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The Beginnings of the Japanese Occupation of Java

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Harry J. Benda
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As Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Japanese occupation was a decisive factor in the shaping of political developments in Indonesia after 1945. It is indeed probable that the impact of those eventful forty months was greater in Indonesia than in Burma and the Philippines, both of which countries had progressed further toward autonomy and self-rule under Western colonial rule than had the Netherlands Indies. It is certainly no coincidence that Japan granted “independence” to these areas during 1943, while in Indonesia a guarded promise of the distant goal of such independence came only as the result of the adverse course of the Pacific War in the latter part of 1944, when Allied landings in Indonesia appeared a probability. It was not until September of that year that, on instructions from Tokyo, the military administration on Java took steps which facilitated the ultimate success of the nationalist revolution in Indonesia. An examination of Japanese policies during the early months of the occupation of Java, the center of Indonesian political life then and now, leaves little doubt that the fate of Indonesia would have been far different had Japan continued victorious in the war.

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Articles
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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , August 1956 , pp. 541 - 560
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Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1956

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References

1 Nieuws van den Dag (Bandung), Feb. 27, 1942.Google Scholar

2 Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, Feb. 24, 1942Google Scholar, and see excerpts from the Indonesian and Chinese press in De Java Bode (Batavia), Feb. 3, 1942.Google Scholar

3 By a neat irony of history, the identical motto was written in Japanese characters on a silk scroll by the C-in-C in Java, Harada, and presented to Ir. Soekarno in Sept. 1944. Soeara Moeslimin Indonesia (Djakarta), II, No. 19 (Oct. 1, 1944), 1.Google Scholar

4 Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, Feb. 23, 1942.Google Scholar

5 Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (Bandung), March 9, 1942Google Scholar. This was the last regular edition of the paper, though it continued to publish a “Special Edition” until the end of March. Similar emergency editions were published at Semarang and Surabaya for several weeks. Apparently no Dutch newspapers appeared in Batavia after the entry of Japanese troops.

6 In this capacity he made a “grass-roots” investigation tour through Java later in the year. Part of his findings were reprinted as an editorial in Asia-Raya (Djakarta), Nov. 14, 1942Google Scholar. Mr. Soedjono had been one of the Indonesian broadcasters from Radio Tokyo, and he did much to explain the Japanese way of life to his compatriots. Pandji Poestaka (Djakarta), XX, No. 4, (May 2, 1942), 110–114, 116–117.Google Scholar

7 Complaints about this “illegal” and “cruel” act were frequently made in those early weeks, e.g. Pemandangan (Djakarta), March 25, 1942Google Scholar. Similar action against the Dutch inhabitants was also threatened. Cf. the pamphlet, Omnenschelijk optreden van Nederlandsche militairen, issued by Asia-Raya, on Sept. 15, 1942Google Scholar; cf. also Zorab, A. A., De Japanse bezetting van Indonesia en hoar volkenrechtelijke zijde (Leyden, 1954), p. 31.Google Scholar

8 Some of these “experts” were later in the year appointed to the Committee set up to study the laws and former constitution of Java. Among them were two former bank managers, each with several years' experience in Java; Prof. Uehara, a specialist in the Indonesian language who had lived ten years in the country; the former editor of Tohindo Nippon at Batavia; and Myoshi, former Japanese consul in that city. Asia-Raya, Nov. 10, 1942Google Scholar. On the other hand, of the 19 Japanese Residents in Java and Madura, none had lived in Indonesia before; two of them had paid brief visits to the area before the war, though some had had “colonial” experience in Formosa, Korea, Manchukuo, etc. Asia-Raya, Dec. 23–30, 1942Google Scholar. Of the Japanese mayors appointed in the three principal cities, apparently only Arima, the Mayor of Semarang, had spent 20 years in Java. Asia-Raya, Nov. 2, 1942.Google Scholar

9 Among the eleven appointments made to the first more representative Indonesian body—the preparatory committee setting up the later Putera movement—only one minor figure, Mr. Soemenang, had had contact with the Japanese before the occupation, having worked part-time at the Japanese consulate in Batavia. Asia-Raya, Dec. 12, 1942.Google Scholar

10 See Piekaar, A. J., Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (The Hague, 1949), esp. pp. 77, 175, 245Google Scholar. According to a report in Asia-Raya of Feb. 8, 1943Google Scholar, the Japanese erected a memorial at Keniru to three Achin fighters, killed by the Dutch on the eve of the occupation. Another memorial was unveiled on Dec. 8, 1944, at Kutaradja. Pandji Poestaka, XXII, No. 24 (Dec. 15, 1944), 784–785.Google Scholar

11 Two groups, called Indonesia Bergerak and Islam Raja fought the Dutch, according to Soekarno's article, “Djiwa Ksatria dan Djiwa Boedak,” in the Asia-Raya booklet of Sept. 1942 commemorating the first six months of the occupation.

12 For newspaper comments, see the Dutch and Indonesian press from January 7, 1941, the day of the search in Thamrin's house, until well into April of that year; for a typical comment, see De Java Bode of April 2, 1941.Google Scholar

13 No consensus of opinion has been reached on Thamrin's guilt. See Pluvier, J. M., Overzicht van de ontwikkelling der nationalislische beweging in Indonesie, 1930–1942 (The Hague, 1953), p. 184Google Scholar. An interesting comment on him was found in a top-secret Japanese document, dated Nov. 16, 1942. The writer possesses a Dutch translation of this piece, Indonesia nu en straks, the origin and authorship of which have not been ascertained. Of Thamrin it says: “He was very unreliable and exclusively concerned with his own advanages. He was distrusted by the [nationalist] movement, as he was suspected of being a silent helpmate of the Dutch government….” Since the document contains fairly shrewd and accurate sketches of other Indonesian nationalists, this information should not be lightly dismissed. On Jan. 15, 1944, a memorial plaque to Thamrin was officially dedicated, as reported in Asia-Raya the following day.

14 Pemandangan, April 15, 1942.Google Scholar

15 Nationale Commentaren (Batavia), V, No. 10 (March 7, 1943), 1–2Google Scholar. This was the last issue of the Dutch-language nationalist weekly. Owing to the destruction of most printing plants prior to the fall of the city it appeared as an emergency issue of very limited size.

16 Cf. Sjahrir, Soetan, Out of Exile, tr. by Wolf, Charles Jr., (New York, 1949), p. 232Google Scholar. For a contemporary Dutch comment, see M.K., “Eeen verschijnsel, dat aandacht eischt,” Kritiek en Opbouw (Batavia), IV, No. 14 (Aug. 16, 1941), 204–205.Google Scholar

17 Abdulgani, Roeslan, Propaganda Djepang, Pendidikan Pegawai Staf Kempen, (Djakarta? Kementerian Penerangan, n.d.), pp. 5–6Google Scholar. Intensified anti-Dutch propaganda from Tokyo had started in Sept. 1941. See the official N.E.I, publication, Tien jaar Japansch gewroet in Nederlandsch-Indië (Batavia, 1942), p. 33.Google Scholar

18 In many places, however, the people were too afraid to leave their homes; to judge by newspaper reports, at Batavia, for example, there was no spontaneous and large-scale welcome of the kind alleged to have taken place at Medan (Sumatra), where “many thousands of us gathered in front of the Great Mosque to welcome [them] with shouts of ‘Banzai!’” See Hamka, , “Sikap dan kewadjiban kaoem Moeslimin dizaman baroe,” in Moeslimin Soematera Baroe (Medan: Badan Penjiaran Bunka-Ka, 1943), pp. 24–28, esp. p. 25.Google Scholar

19 Berita Oemoem, Mar. 12. Harada took over as C-in-C from Imamura in May 1943. Asia-Raya, May 25, 1943.Google Scholar

20 Berita Oemoem, Mar. 17, Tjaja Timoer (Djakarta) of March 24 carried a similar article.

21 Berita Oemoem, Mar. 17. The appointees were Atik Soeardi, formerly a member of the West Java Provincial Council, and Baden Pandoe Soerhadiningrat, respectively.

22 Berita Oemoem, April 20, 23, 25 and 28, to cite only a few. The only permanent higher position initially held by Indonesians was that of mayor, to which post 15 appointments had been made by the end of Sept. 1942. See Asia-Raya, Oct. 14 and Nov. 2, 1942.Google Scholar

23 Berita Oemoem, Mar. 19, Soetardjo also suggested the creation of a single, unified political party with compulsory, universal membership; he advocated a national uniform for all, compulsory schooling and military service, and a streamlined diet. Soetardjo's career under the occupation was noteworthy; he became Resident (Shūchōkan) of the Djakarta Residency in late 1943. Djawa Baroe (Djakarta), I, No. 23 (Dec. 1, 1943), 8–9.Google Scholar

24 See Gandasubrata, S. M., An Account of the Japanese Occupation of Banjumas Residency, Java, March 1942 to August 1945 (Ithaca, N. Y., 1953), p. 6Google Scholar; Wertheim, F. W., “Changes in Indonesia's Social Stratification,” PA, XXVIII (March 1955), 44.Google Scholar

25 Sedya Tama (Jogja) of Sept. 10, 1941Google Scholar, reprinted in Nationale Commentaren, IV, No. 38 (Sept. 20, 1941), p. 3807.Google Scholar

26 See Kahin, G. McT., Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia (Ithaca, N. Y., 1952), p. 95f.Google Scholar

27 Although the Dutch had disapproved of the anthem for a long time, they actually allowed it to be played over the government's Indonesian transmitters during 1941. See Nationale Commentaren, V., No. 8 (Feb. 21, 1942), 4194Google Scholar, quoting the Medan daily, Sinar Deli, of Feb. 4.

28 “Oendang-oendang,” No. 1, printed in Berita Oemoem Mar. 23. For an Indonesian reaction see Gandasubrata, p. 4; a contemporary comment can be found in Sanoesi Pané's article, “Setoeroenan dan sebangsa,” in Asia-Raya, May 13, 1942.Google Scholar

29 There is a rather humorous account according to which Winarno of Pemandangan and Djoenadi, proprietor of Tjaja Timoer, were “rounded up” by Japanese officers on the evening of Sunday, Mar. 8, for an interview with Col. Nagayama, in which he expressed his concern about the continued looting in and around Djakarta. No other newspapermen were available at that hour. Pemandangan, Mar. 9. Most printing works had, moreover, been destroyed by Dutch squads before the surrender, a fact which greatly hampered communication for some time.

30 Berita Oemoem, Apr. 13.

31 Pemandangan, Mar. 12, in a letter to the editor. On Apr. 6, Pemandangan carried a very spirited reply to the above accusations by one of the priyahi: “The public knows that the ‘movement’ consists of a great number of organizations which, though their common aim allegedly is to advance the people, are in practice often at odds with one another, and even fight each other. In this state of affairs we priyahi must remain neutral.…”

32 Pemandangan, Apr. 1. In the inaugural address to the Putera meeting of Mar. 8, 1943, Soekarno called the gulf separating nationalists and priyahi the “most rotten wound caused by the Dutch policy of divide et impera.” The speech itself devotes much space to a fiery call to unity among the two elite groups. Asia-Raya, March 9, 1943.Google Scholar

33 Pringgodigdo, A. K., Sedjarah pergerakan rakjat Indonesia (Djakarta, 1950), pp. 166–167Google Scholar; van der Plas, Charles O., Nationalism in the Netherlands Indies (New York, 1942), p. 14Google Scholar, On the Madjelis, see Kahin, , p. 100.Google Scholar

34 Wondoamiseno, W., “Sikap M.I.A.I, terhadap peroebahan djaman baroe,” in Pandji Poestaka, XX, No. 38 (Oct. 1942) 973–976, esp. 974Google Scholar. In this article, Wondoamiseno, chairman of the M.I.A.I., gave a survey of the Islamic movement under the occupation.

35 As an editorial in Asia-Raya put it as late as June 6, 1942: “Slogans, such as ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ … could always be heard from our leaders, … but solid unity … has even up to the most recent times not yet been achieved. It is moreover quite obvious that among the leaders themselves the spirit of unity is not yet deeply rooted—they understand it with their heads, but not with their hearts. … Nippon quarters are now making strenuous efforts to obtain this spirit of unification. …”

36 See also M. Slamet's pamphlet, The Afterglow of the Japanese Sunset (Batavia, 1946)Google Scholar, Part II: “A Surfeit of Excellencies,” p. 2Google Scholar. Slamet's denunciations of “collaborators” differed from Sjahrir's bellicose Perdjoeangan kita (Djakarta, Pertjetakan Negara, 1946)Google Scholar in being not only more specific, but also in including the Indonesian top leadership; his utterances, addressed to the British and Dutch, were of course anathema to the Republicans.

37 Berita Oemoem, Mar. 17. The warning was not yet understood by Dr. Ratulangi, as indicated in his article, “Our most urgent need,” in Berita Oemoem, Mar. 21. Here for the last time until mid-1945, a nationalist leader publicly speculated about the setting up of an Indonesian government “collaborating with the Japanese military authorities….”

38 “Oendang-oendang,” No. 4, dated Mar. 20, 1942. See Gunseikanbu [Military Government Office], Boekoe pengompoelan oendang-oendang (Djakarta, 1944), p. 8Google Scholar. The decree was also published in the daily press, as in Berita Oemoem of March 23.

39 “Oendang-oendang,” No. 3, March 20, 1942Google Scholar. Boekoe pengoempoelan …, p. 8Google Scholar. “Oendang-oendang,” No. 23 of July 15, 1942Google Scholar (ibid., pp. 22–23), exempted cultural, social, and sports organization from the ban. These would be permitted after prior registration of meetings and organizations, with “strict punishments” for failure to comply. The punishments, including life imprisonment, were later spelled out in detail in “Osamu Seirei,” No. 25 of May 10, 1944Google Scholar, Section 52. Ibid., 170.

40 See Pandji Poestaka, XX, No. 1 (April 11, 1942), 17Google Scholar. Indonesian participants in a meeting arranged by the Army's Barisan Propaganda (Propaganda Corps) on Mar. 27 pleaded for retention of the anthem, while two Japanese “artists,” Ida and Ichiki, presented them with an innocuous substitute, called “Hideop Indonesia!” [“Long Live Indonesia”).

41 Asia-Raya, May 5, 1942Google Scholar. The Professor should not be mistaken for the suave “civilian” Shimizu.

42 On anthem and flag after Koiso's promise, see Djawa Baroe, II, No. 18 (Sept. 15, 1944)Google Scholar, passim.

43 Although the “fraternal” relationship was the official credo, Premier Tojo provided a more apt description when, speaking from Tokyo, he said that the guiding principle must be “the feeling of a parent toward his child.” Asia-Raya, Jan. 30, 1943Google Scholar, quoting the Djawa Shimbun.

44 Only on April 29, 1945, did the C-in-C decree that the appelation “Indonesian” be applied to both the people and their language. The Japanese terms used until then were gen-zyūmin [genjūmin] (“native, aborigine”) and Marai-go (“Malay language”). Similarly, the country itself, hitherto called Tō Indo (“East Indies”), was now officially christened Indonesia. See Soeara Moeslimin Indonesia, III, No. 10 (May 15, 1945), 2.Google Scholar

45 Asia-Raya, May 5, 1942.Google Scholar

46 Berita Oemoem, March 21.

47 Berita Oemoem, Apr. 4. This opinion, dear to ultra-conservative Dutch colonials, found later expression in an item reprinted from Djawa Shimbun in Asia-Raya, Jan. 21, 1943. It dealt with the “laziness of the native,” his incapacity to save money, and his lack of economic initiative.Google Scholar

48 On April 17, the army ordered all publishers of newspapers and magazines to submit to the censor's office in the capital every issue of their respective publications from the beginning of Dec. 1941 through Mar. 10, 1942–in other words, from before Pearl Harbor to the fall of Java. Berita Oemoem, Apr. 18. On the Emperor's birthday, Pemandangan unwittingly came close to lese majesty when, in a super-patriotic effort, it featured the Rising Sun on its front page—neatly decapitating the Emperor in his portrait. It reappeared under the changed title, Pembangoen, until the end of 1943, when it was merged with Asia-Raya. Djakarta's third Indonesian daily, Tjaja Timoer, had already been ordered to cease publication on July 8, 1942.

49 The new publications were: for East Java, Soeara Asia (Surabaya); for Central Java, Sinar Baroe (Semarang) and Sinar Matahari (Djokja); and for West Java, in addition to the two Djakarta papers already referred to, Tjahaja (Bandung).

50 See the announcement in Asia-Raya, Dec. 2, 1942Google Scholar. Asahi sent some 50 experts to Java; the concern was originally headed by Suzuki Bunshirō. It commenced publishing the Japanese daily Djawa Shimbun on December 8, and the bilingual, excellently edited, illustrated fortnightly Djawa Baroe on March 1, 1943Google Scholar. Asia-Raya was as from then on styled “Center of the Newspaper Enterprise on Java.”

51 Asia-Raya, May 29 and July 6, respectively.

52 See the Netherlands Indies' government publication, Tien jaar Japansch gewroel in Nederlandsch-Indië (Batavia, 1942), p. 25.Google Scholar

53 The capital city retained its Dutch name, Batavia, until December 8, 1942, when the military authorities, upon Indonesian request and with the concurrence of Tokyo, changed it to Djakarta. The announcement concerning the official change appeared in Asia-Raya, Dec. 11.

54 The first report, which did not mention the names of the visitors, appeared in Pemandangan, of Mar. 12.

55 See the report in Berita Oemoem, Mar. 16. Some of these Japanese “Muslims” were Hadji Muhammad Abdul Muniam Inada, Sayido Wakkaas, Abdul Hamid Ono, and later Hadji Muhammad Saleh Suzuki. Berita Oemoem reported on March 28 that signs had been posted on all Djakarta mosques placing them under the control of the Nippon army. Horie, Inada, Suzuki, and Shimizu (who promised to become a Muslim later), to some extent played important parts in the development of the Islamic movement on Java.

56 P.S.I.I. was ordered abolished on May 9, P.S.I, on May 20, 1942. Asia-Raya, May 12 and June 5.

57 On June 2, 1942, all political parties in Medan, Sumatra, “voluntarily” determined to disband, according to Asia-Raya, June 10. No similar action took place on Java, but in Solo, for example, political leaders were later ordered to report to the police, to give “some information.” Cf. Pandji Poestaka, XX, No. 19 (Aug. 15, 1942), 677.Google Scholar

58 See the present writer's article, “Indonesian Islam under the Japanese Occupation, 1942–1945,” in PA, XXVIII (Dec. 1955), 350–362.Google Scholar

59 Abikusno's address was reprinted in Asia-Raya, Aug. 13 and 19.

60 Wondoamiseno, , p. 975.Google Scholar

61 Benda, , p. 355.Google Scholar

62 This phrase is cited by Lt. Gen. Imamura Hitoshi in his memoirs written in jail at Djakarta in 1946. These memoirs are typewritten in rather faulty English, and bear the title, A Tapir in Prison. Part III deals among other things with Imamura's command on Java (pp. 106–136), whence he was transferred to New Guinea; after the Japanese surrender he was brought back to Java by Dutch Military Intelligence for interrogation. The passage quoted appears on p. 123. The writer is indebted to the Indonesian Collection of the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam for permission to use and cite this document.

63 The arrival of Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir at Sukabumi from exile in Banda Neira in the Moluccas was public knowledge on Java. See Nationale Commentaren, V, No. 8 (Feb. 21, 1942), 4195Google Scholar. See also Sjahrir, , pp. 217f.Google Scholar

64 Cf. Pemandangan, Tjaja Timoer and Berita Oemoem, of Mar. 23–25.

65 Berita Oemoem, March 27. For a postwar Indonesian version of the interview, see the Introduction to Hatta's Verspreide Geschriften (Djakarta, 1952), p. 15.Google Scholar

66 “In all earnest, all strata of the Indonesian people hope and expect that the leadership of Hatta will steer the ship of our people towards the shores of a peaceful and happy life! …” Berita Oemoem, Apr. 9. Significantly, there is no longer mention of freedom, even at this early stage.

67 Pandji Poestaka, XX, No. 7 (May 23, 1942), 245Google Scholar. Four other Indonesians—Pringgodigdo, Suwirjo, Sujitno Mangkunkusumo, and Mardjono—were also attached to the Bureau, with former consul Myoshi acting as liaison officer.

68 See the interview with Hatta, Pandji Poestaka, XX, No. 2 (April 28, 1942), 46–47.Google Scholar

69 Soekarno had first met Japanese officers at Bukittingi in Sumatra on Mar. 17. Soeara Moeslimin Indonesia, II, No. 23/24 (Dec. 15, 1944), 16–18.Google Scholar

70 Asia-Raya, June 20.

71 Cf. Out of Exile, p. 245Google Scholar. The committee of the Three-A Movement itself had previously dispatched a two-man delegation, consisting of Madjid Usman and Rachman Tamin, to Sumatra, with the aim of bringing about Ir. Soekarno's return.

72 Imamura, , p. 123.Google Scholar

73 Imamura asserts that he did send a plane to fetch Ir. Soekarno, but the contemporary newspapers contradict him on this point.

74 Asia-Raya, July 10, 1942.Google Scholar

75 See Pandji Poestaka, XX, No. 26 (Oct. 23, 1942), 933.Google Scholar

76 See Asia-Raya of Nov. 21, 1942.Google Scholar

77 For Soekarno's opening address, see Asia-Raya, March 9, 1943.Google Scholar

78 This was later revealed by Djawa Shimbun in an interview with Sukardj o Wirjopranoto, reprinted in Asia-Raya, Jan. 12, 1944Google Scholar. Sukardjo also stated that government officials had been barred from joining Putera by the Japanese authorities.

79 This nationalist magazine, Indonesia Merdeka, was published between Apr. and June, 1945. The Islamic periodical, Soeara M.I.A.I., renamed Soeara Moeslimin Indonesia in Dec. 1943Google Scholar, commenced in Jan. 1943 and ceased publication in Dec. 1945, five months after the Japanese surrender.

80 These were six in number, including Shimizu and Miyoshi. For a complete listing, see Asia-Raya, May 27, 1943Google Scholar. It is interesting to note that Soekarno himself was allowed to “appoint” these Japanese members. This was, as far as can be ascertained, a unique occurrence in occupation times.