Japanese Occupation of Indonesia

Were the Japanese liberators or oppressors during the Occupation period, 1942-1945?

Were the Japanese liberators or oppressors during the Occupation period, 1942-1945?

Introduction

Japan occupied a number of countries and regions during World War II, and the most important and prominent ones among those include Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, The Philippines, and Thailand, most part of Eastern China, Malaysia, Korea and Manchuria. In addition, a large number of small pacific island were also occupies by the Japanese, and their rule in these areas continued for a short duration of time. Although the Japanese claimed themselves to be the liberators, their rule resulted in distortion of the life of individuals in these areas and the occupants suffered the most during the Japanese rule, as they proved to be the cruelest rules ever. Thousands of stories have been narrated regarding the Japanese rule and all these narrations have proved that Japanese aimed at taking the areas under their rule permanently, and for the same reason, they employed harsh and brutal means to strengthen their rule and take the occupants under their dread.

Discussion

The occupation of Indonesia, 1942- 1945

Indonesia, which was then known as Dutch East Indies, was occupied by Japan during the Second World War, and the rule lasted from 1942 to 1945, when the world war ended. This period of occupation is known as one of the most serious and essential period in the history of Indonesia, as the country was already under the influence of German forces and the same occupation allowed the Japanese forces to take advantage of the situation and invade Indonesia, overtaking its forces and allies. Netherlands was occupied by the Japanese army after three months of its first attack on Borneo: it is eminent to mention here that in the beginning, the Japanese attack was welcome by the Dutch individuals, as they considered the Japanese to be their liberators and thought that they would liberate them from the Dutch colonial masters. However, the notion was soon proved to be wrong, when the Japanese, after taking over completely, stared misusing their powers and took the Indonesians as their slaves, thus forcing them to stand up and get themselves liberated from the Japanese forces.

The Japanese invasion caused a number of sudden and unexpected changes in Indonesia, which includes the end of Dutch colonial rule and the politicizing of Indonesians to the grass root level. At first, the Japanese posed serious threat to the Dutch colonial masters as they ended their rule, thus leading to the Indonesian Revolution, which was considered impossible just three years before it took place. Breaking the tradition of the Dutch colonial masters, the Japanese too politics to the villages in Indonesia, particularly Java and some of the areas of Sumatra, where there were no such developments before, in addition, the Japanese played their part in educating and training and arming a large number of young Indonesian individuals, thus providing them with a political voice and strengthening the nationalist leaders. Thus, Japan can be seen behind ...