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90-627: Due to the Japanese Occupation of Singapore , foreign trade was disrupted, thus causing food shortages, as Singapore had been primarily relying on imports for food supply. The Japanese introduced the Grow More Food Campaign to encourage locals to grow their own food, which was not enough. In August 1943, the Japanese begun a project to relocate Singaporeans out of Singapore to other areas. Headed by Mamoru Shinozaki ,

180-589: A sovereign city-state a few years later in 1965. The day of the surrender of the British to the Japanese in 1942 continues to be commemorated in Singapore with Total Defence Day , which is marked annually on 15 February. Singapore was hit by the first Japanese bombs on 8 December 1941. The Japanese forces initially focused on invading Malaya (present-day Peninsular Malaysia), which they captured within 55 days . They captured Johor Bahru by 31 January 1942, with

270-702: A drafted military convention that would specifically delimit the Asian continent by a dividing line along the 70th meridian east longitude . This line, running southwards through the Ob River 's Arctic estuary, southwards to just east of Khost in Afghanistan and heading into the Indian Ocean just west of Rajkot in India , would have split Germany's Lebensraum and Italy's spazio vitale territories to

360-691: A popular food-crop just as it did the other vegetables. After taking Singapore, the Japanese established the Shonan Japanese School ( 昭南日本学園 , Shōnan Nihon Gakuen ) , to educate the Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Eurasians in the Japanese language. Faye Yuan Kleeman, the author of Under an Imperial Sun: Japanese Colonial Literature of Taiwan and the South wrote that it was the most successful of such schools in Southeast Asia. During

450-402: A result of the embargo, Japan decided to attack the British and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia from 7 to 19 December 1941, seizing the raw materials needed for the war effort. These efforts were successful, with Japanese politician Nobusuke Kishi announcing via radio broadcast that vast resources were available for Japanese use in the newly conquered territories. As part of its war drive in

540-604: A vast range of territories covering virtually all of East Asia, the Pacific Ocean , and even sizable portions of the Western Hemisphere , including in locations as far removed from Japan as South America and the eastern Caribbean . Although the projected extension of the Co-Prosperity Sphere was extremely ambitious, the Japanese goal during the "Greater East Asia War" was not to acquire all

630-562: Is located off Punggol Road in northeastern Singapore. The inscription on the monument reads: On 23 February 1942, some 300–400 Chinese civilians were killed along Punggol foreshore by Hojo Kempei (auxiliary military police) firing squad. They were among tens of thousands who lost their lives during the Japanese Sook Ching operation to purge suspected anti-Japanese civilians among Singapore's Chinese population between 18 February and 4 March 1942. The victims who perished along

720-719: Is unknown if the Axis powers ever formally negotiated a possible, complementary second demarcation line that would have divided the Western Hemisphere. Puppet states which already existed at the time, the Land Disposal Plan has been drafted, were: Contrary to the plan Japan installed a puppet state on the Philippines instead of exerting direct control. In the former French Indochina, the Empire of Vietnam ,

810-595: The Allies in September 1945. Ba Maw , wartime President of Burma under the Japanese, blamed the Japanese military for the failure of the Co-Prosperity Sphere: The militarists saw everything only from a Japanese perspective and, even worse, they insisted that all others dealing with them should do the same. For them, there was only one way to do a thing, the Japanese way; only one goal and interest,

900-522: The Battle of Bukit Timah from 10 to 12 February and the Battle of Pasir Panjang on 13 February. During the Alexandra Hospital massacre on 14 February, Japanese soldiers killed more than 200 hospital staff and patients. By 15 February, about a million civilians in the city were crammed into the remaining area held by Allied forces, 1 percent of the island. Japanese aircraft continuously bombed

990-538: The Burma-Siam Railway . The Japanese sometimes spared ethnic groups, such as Chinese immigrants, if they supported the war effort, whether sincerely or not. An Investigation of Global Policy with the Yamato Race as Nucleus – a secret document completed in 1943 for high-ranking government use – laid out that Japan, as the originator and strongest military power within the region, would naturally take

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1080-469: The Empire of Japan (anti-Japanese elements in the local population). The Sook Ching massacres claimed the lives of between 25,000 and 55,000 ethnic Chinese in Singapore as well as in neighboring Malaya. These victims, mainly males between the ages of 18 and 50, were rounded up and taken to deserted spots and remote locations around the island, such as Changi Beach, Punggol Point, and Siglap, and killed systematically using machine guns and rifles. Moreover,

1170-654: The GEACPS , was a pan-Asian union that the Empire of Japan tried to establish. Initially, it covered Japan (including annexed Korea ), Manchukuo , and China , but as the Pacific War progressed, it also included territories in Southeast Asia and parts of India . The term was first coined by Minister for Foreign Affairs Hachirō Arita on June 29, 1940. The proposed objectives of this union were to ensure economic self-sufficiency and cooperation among

1260-724: The Japanese colonial empire , as it expanded dramatically during the war, contained two contradictory impulses. On the one hand, it preached the unity of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, a coalition of Asian races directed by Japan against Western imperialism in Asia . This approach celebrated the spiritual values of the East in opposition to the "crass materialism " of the West. In practice, however,

1350-521: The Kempeitai established an island-wide network of local informants to help them identify those they suspected as anti-Japanese. These informers were well-paid by the Kempeitai and had no fear of being arrested for their loyalty was not in question to the occupation forces. These informers worked at Kempeitai screening centres where the Japanese attempted to single out anti-Japanese elements for execution. Japanese soldiers and Kempeitai officers patrolled

1440-462: The Kempeitai . Those who passed the arbitrary screening were released with 'Examined' stamped on their faces, arms or clothes. Others, not so fortunate, were taken to outlying parts of Singapore and executed for alleged anti-Japanese activities. Tens of thousands were estimated to have lost their lives. For those who were spared, the Sook Ching screening remains one of their worst memories of

1530-620: The Marianas , Carolines , Marshall Islands , and several others do not figure in this project. They were the subject of earlier negotiations with the Germans and were expected to be officially ceded to Japan in return for economic and monetary compensations. The plan divided Japan's future empire into two different groups. The first group of territories were expected to become either part of Japan or otherwise be under its direct administration. Second were those territories that would fall under

1620-488: The staple food of most diets of many Singaporeans because they were considerably cheaper than rice and could also be grown fast and easily in backyard gardens. They were then turned into a variety of dishes, as both desserts and all three meals of the day. Such foods helped to fend starvation off, with limited success in terms of nutrients gained, and new ways of consuming sweet potatoes, tapiocas and yams with other products were regularly invented and created to help stave off

1710-512: The 50,000 taken in Malaya; many died of neglect, abuse or forced labour . Three days after the British surrender, the Japanese began the Sook Ching purge, killing thousands of civilians. The Japanese held Singapore until the end of the war. Churchill called it the worst disaster in British military history . The main army which took Malaya, the 25th Army, was redeployed to other fronts such as

1800-457: The Asiatics". He claimed that if Japan had proclaimed this maxim at the beginning of the war and acted on that idea, they could have engineered a very different outcome. No military defeat could then have robbed her of the trust and gratitude of half of Asia or even more, and that would have mattered a great deal in finding for her a new, great, and abiding place in a postwar world in which Asia

1890-652: The British forces retreating to Singapore and blowing up the Johor-Singapore Causeway , which linked Singapore to the mainland. Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in South–East Asia and had been of great importance to British interwar defence strategy . Singapore was considered so important that Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the British Lieutenant-General, Arthur Percival , to fight to

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1980-589: The British, there was growing political sentiments amongst the local populace in tandem with the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist fervor, as many felt that the British were no longer competent with the administration and defence of the crown colony and its inhabitants. Shortly after the war, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a separate crown colony in 1946. It would go on to achieve self-governance in 1959 and join with Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963, before becoming

2070-758: The Empire on 15 August. In the radio address , he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies. The surrender ceremony was held on 2 September aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri at which officials from the Japanese government signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, thereby ending the hostilities. On 12 September 1945, a surrender instrument was signed at the Singapore Municipal Building . That

2160-458: The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as a device for the "development of the Japanese race." When World War II ended, the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere became a source of criticism and scorn for Allies. The concept of a unified Asia under Japanese leadership had its roots dating back to the 16th century. For example, Toyotomi Hideyoshi proposed to make China, Korea, and Japan into "one". Modern conceptions emerged in 1917. During

2250-429: The Japanese Sook Ching operation to purge suspected anti-Japanese civilians among Singapore's Chinese population between 18 February and 4 March 1942. Tanah Merah Besar Beach, a few hundred meters south (now part of Singapore Changi Airport runway ) was one of the most heavily-used killing grounds where well over a thousand Chinese men and youths lost their lives. — National Heritage Board. The site of this monument

2340-865: The Japanese Empire and was collectively referred to as the Greater East Asian Film Sphere. These film centers mass-produced shorts, newsreels, and feature films to encourage Japanese language acquisition as well as cooperation with Japanese colonial authorities. Prior to the escalation of World War II to the Pacific and East Asia, Japanese planners regarded it as self-evident that the conquests secured in Japan's earlier wars with Russia ( South Sakhalin and Kwantung ), Germany ( South Seas Mandate ), and China ( Manchuria ) would be retained, as well as Korea ( Chōsen ), Taiwan ( Formosa ),

2430-519: The Japanese Empire. The Greater East Asia Conference ( 大東亞會議 , Dai Tōa Kaigi ) took place in Tokyo on 5–6 November 1943: Japan hosted the heads of state of various component members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The conference was also referred to as the Tokyo Conference . The common language used by the delegates during the conference was English . The conference

2520-559: The Japanese Occupation. — National Heritage Board . The site of this monument is located in Changi Beach Park (near Camp Site 2) in the eastern part of Singapore. The inscription reads: 66 male civilians were killed by Japanese Hojo Kempei (auxiliary military police) firing at the water's edge on this stretch of Changi Beach on 20 February 1942. They were among tens of thousands who lost their lives during

2610-493: The Japanese an opportunity to fulfill the objectives of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, without significant pushback from the Western powers or China. This entailed the conquest of Southeast Asian territories to extract their natural resources. If territories were unprofitable, the Japanese would encourage their subjects, including those in mainland Japan, to endure "economic suffering" and prevent outflow of material to

2700-416: The Japanese failed to gather support in other Asian countries. Nationalist movements did appear in these Asian countries during this period, and these nationalists cooperated with the Japanese to some extent. However, Willard Elsbree, professor emeritus of political science at Ohio University , claims that the Japanese government and these nationalist leaders never developed "a real unity of interests between

2790-457: The Japanese installed organisationally-minded bureaucrats and engineers to run their new empire, and they believed in ideals of efficiency, modernisation, and engineering solutions to social problems. Japanese was the official language of the bureaucracy in all of the areas and was taught at schools as a national language. Japan set up puppet regimes in Manchuria and China; they vanished at

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2880-491: The Japanese interest; only one destiny for the East Asian countries, to become so many Manchukuos or Koreas tied forever to Japan. This racial impositions ... made any real understanding between the Japanese militarists and the people of our region virtually impossible. In other words, the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere operated not for the betterment of all the Asian countries but for Japan's interests, and thus

2970-551: The Japanese military led many of the inhabitants of those regions to regard Japan as being worse than their former colonial rulers. The Japanese government directed that economies of occupied territories be managed strictly for the production of raw materials for the Japanese war effort; a cabinet member declared, "There are no restrictions. They are enemy possessions. We can take them, do anything we want". For example, according to estimates, under Japanese occupation, about 100,000 Burmese and Malay Indian labourers died while constructing

3060-426: The Japanese, and Asians had been weakened by colonialism, it was Japan's self-appointed role to "make men of them again" and liberate them from their Western oppressors. According to Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō (in office 1941–1942 and 1945), should Japan be successful in creating this sphere, it would emerge as the leader of Eastern Asia, and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere would be synonymous with

3150-465: The Pacific, Japanese propaganda included phrases like "Asia for the Asiatics" and talked about the need to "liberate" Asian colonies from the control of Western powers. They also planned to change the Chinese hegemony in the agricultural market in Southeast Asia with Japanese immigrants to boost its economic value, with the former being despised by Southeast Asian natives. The Japanese failure to bring

3240-458: The Philippines and New Guinea shortly after the fall of Singapore. The Kempeitai (the Japanese military police ), which was the dominant occupation unit in Singapore, committed numerous atrocities towards the common people. They introduced the system of " Sook Ching ", meaning "purging through purification" in Chinese , to get rid of those, especially ethnic Chinese , deemed to be hostile to

3330-533: The Philippines during the war. Transportation between the islands was difficult because of a lack of fuel. Food was in short supply, with sporadic famines and epidemic diseases that killed hundreds of thousands of people. In October 1943, Japan declared the Philippines an independent republic. The Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic , headed by President José P. Laurel , proved to be ineffective and unpopular as Japan maintained very tight control. The Co-Prosperity Sphere collapsed with Japan's surrender to

3420-669: The Sino-British guerrilla task force Force 136 in 1942 with Captain John Davis of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Operation Gustavus was aimed at establishing an espionage network in Malaya and Singapore to gather intelligence about Japanese activities, and thereby aid the British in Operation Zipper – the code name for their plan to take back Singapore from the Japanese. Force 136

3510-536: The United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sixteen hours later, US President Harry S. Truman called again for Japan's surrender and warned it to "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." On 8 August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and the next day invaded the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo . Later that day,

3600-671: The United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Following those events, Emperor Hirohito intervened and ordered the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War to accept the terms the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration to end the war. After several more days of behind-the-scenes negotiations and a failed coup d'état, Emperor Hirohito gave a recorded radio address across

3690-404: The area. Following the end of the occupation of Singapore, the settlement was abandoned, with the settlers returning to Singapore. Japanese Occupation of Singapore Syonan ( Japanese : 昭南 , Hepburn : Shōnan , Kunrei-shiki : Syônan ) , officially Syonan Island ( Japanese : 昭南島 , Hepburn : Shōnan-tō , Kunrei-shiki : Syônan-tô ) , was the name for Singapore when it

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3780-417: The civilian water supply which was expected to fail within days. The Japanese were also almost at the end of their supplies and Yamashita wanted to avoid costly house-to-house fighting . Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita demanded unconditional surrender and on the afternoon of 15 February, Percival capitulated. About 80,000 British, Indian , Australian and local troops became prisoners of war , joining

3870-461: The conference, the conference served little military value. With the simultaneous use of Wilsonian and Pan-Asian rhetoric, the goals of the conference were to solidify the commitment of certain Asian countries to Japan's war effort and to improve Japan's world image; however, the representatives of the other attending countries were in practice neither independent nor treated as equals by Japan. The following dignitaries attended: The ideology of

3960-532: The control of a number of tightly controlled pro-Japanese vassal states based on the model of Manchukuo, as nominally "independent" members of the Greater East Asian alliance. Parts of the plan depended on successful negotiations with Nazi Germany and a global victory by the Axis powers . After Germany and Italy declared war on the United States on 11 December 1941, Japan presented the Germans with

4050-534: The early 1960s. The memorial was officially unveiled by Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on the 25th anniversary of the start of the Japanese occupation in 1967. It was constructed with part of the S$ 50 million 'blood debt' compensation paid by the Japanese government in October 1966. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Lee said: We meet to remember the men and women who were the hapless victims of one of

4140-428: The electricity, water supply and telephone services. It took four or five years for the economy to return to prewar levels. When British troops finally arrived, they were met with cheering and fanfare. Banana money became worthless after the occupation ended. To keep alive the memory of the Japanese occupation and its lessons learned for future generations, the Singapore government erected several memorials with some at

4230-439: The end of the settlement's first year, the population had grown to about 12,000, and featured several amenities, such as a school, a bank, restaurants and a hospital. The settlement also had a sawmill, a paper factory, and a cigarette factory. However, Chinese anti-Japanese guerillas attacked the settlement, killing several civilians and officials, until Shinozaki negotiated with the guerillas, offering rice in exchange for peace in

4320-525: The enemy. Nonetheless, they preached the moral superiority of cultivating a "spiritual essence" instead of prioritising material gain like Western powers. After Japanese advancements into French Indochina in 1940, knowing that Japan was completely dependent on other countries for natural resources, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a trade embargo on steel and oil , raw materials that were vital to Japan's war effort. Without steel and oil imports, Japan's military could not fight for long. As

4410-434: The farms, and a New Syonan Model Farm Construction Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Peranakan physician Lim Boon Keng . Following this, the jungle around the area of the planned settlement was cleared for development. Roads and houses were built to serve the settlers. As the Japanese promised that they would not interfere with the settlement, many Chinese in Singapore were interested in moving to Endau, despite

4500-535: The fires of history... If today we remember these lessons of the past, we strengthen our resolve and determination to make our future more secure then these men and women for whom we mourn would not have died in vain . On 15 February every year, memorial services (opened to the public) are held at the memorial. The site of this monument lies within the Hong Lim Complex in Chinatown. The inscription on

4590-542: The first step of the project was to relocate Chinese citizens to a new settlement in Endau, Johor . Shinozaki convinced the Oversea Chinese Association to help with the construct the settlement, stating that the Japanese would not interfere with the settlement, and the rice supply would be provided until the settlement attained self-sufficiency. The Association provided $ 2,000,000 for the construction of

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4680-499: The flags of all the states and a map depicting the intended sphere. Others proclaimed that they had given independent governments to the countries they occupied, a claim undermined by the lack of power given to these puppet governments. In Thailand, a street was built to demonstrate it, to be filled with modern buildings and shops, but 9 ⁄ 10 of it consisted of false fronts . A network of Japanese-sponsored film production, distribution, and exhibition companies extended across

4770-525: The foreshore were among 1,000 Chinese males rounded up following a house-to-house search of the Chinese community living along Upper Serangoon Road by Japanese soldiers. — National Heritage Board. The Japanese occupation of Singapore has been depicted in media and popular culture, including films, television series and books: Books Film Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere ( Japanese : 大東亞共榮圈 , Hepburn : Dai Tōa Kyōeiken ) , also known as

4860-639: The former massacre sites: Spearheaded and managed by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry , the Civilian War Memorial is located in the War Memorial Park at Beach Road . Comprising four white concrete columns, this 61-meter-tall memorial commemorates the civilian dead of all races. It was built after thousands of remains were discovered all over Singapore during the urban redevelopment boom in

4950-440: The head of the agricultural department, Chen Kee Sun being appointed as manager, Dr. Hu Tsai Kuen  [ zh ] and Dr. Chen Ah Po being put in charge of the medical and health department, Woo Mon Chew being put in charge of the public works department, Leong Yuen Ho being put in charge of the timber mill, and Wong Tatt Sang being put in charge of peace and order. Wong was later replaced by Lo Po Yee and Goh Hood Kiat . By

5040-412: The image of a banana tree printed on most of such notes of the currency) as their main currency during the occupation period since British Straits currency became rarer and was subsequently phased out when the Japanese took over in 1942. They instituted elements of a command economy in which there were restrictions on the demand and supply of resources, thus creating a popular black market from which

5130-476: The last man. Percival commanded 85,000 Allied troops at Singapore, although many units were under-strength and most units lacked experience. The British outnumbered the Japanese but much of the water for the island was drawn from reservoirs on the mainland. The Battle of Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942. On 8 February, the Japanese crossed the Johore Strait by boat and attacked Singapore from

5220-587: The late 1940s after several years of fighting the Dutch. To build up the economic base of the Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Japanese Army envisioned using the Philippine islands as a source of agricultural products needed by its industry. For example, Japan had a surplus of sugar from Taiwan , and a severe shortage of cotton , so they tried to grow cotton on sugar lands with disastrous results; they lacked

5310-577: The local people to learn their language (Japanese). Textbooks and language guidebooks were printed in Japanese and radios and movies were broadcast and screened in Japanese. Every morning, school-children had to stand facing the direction of Japan (in the case of Singapore, looking northeast) and sing the Japanese national anthem (" Kimigayo "). Japanese propaganda banners and posters also went up all around Singapore, as did many Japanese Rising Sun flags raised and hung across many major buildings. Basic resources, ranging from food to medication, were scarce during

5400-427: The locals could obtain key scarce resources such as rice, meat, and medicine. The "Banana" currency started to suffer from high inflation and dropped drastically in value because the occupation authorities would simply print more whenever they needed it; consequently on the black market, Straits currency was more widely used. Food availability and quality decreased greatly. Sweet potatoes , tapiocas and yams became

5490-469: The member states, along with resisting the influence of Western imperialism and Soviet communism . In reality, militarists and nationalists saw it as an effective propaganda tool to enforce Japanese hegemony. The latter approach was reflected in a document released by Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare , An Investigation of Global Policy with the Yamato Race as Nucleus , which promoted racial supremacist theories. Japanese spokesmen openly described

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5580-532: The monotony. Both the British colonial and Japanese occupation authorities encouraged their local population to grow their own food even if they had the smallest amount of land. The encouragement and production were similar to what occurred with " Victory Gardens " in Western nations (predominantly in Europe) during World War II as food supplies grew ever scarcer. Ipomoea aquatica , which grew relatively easily and flourished relatively well near water sources, became

5670-604: The monument reads: The site was one of the temporary registration centres of the Japanese Military Police, the Kempeitai , for screening 'anti-Japanese' Chinese. On 18 February 1942, three days after the surrender of Singapore, the Kempeitai launched a month-long purge of 'anti-Japanese elements' in an operation named Sook Ching . All Chinese men between 18 and 50 years old, and in some cases women and children, were ordered to report to these temporary registration centers for interrogation and identification by

5760-445: The north-west, at the weakest point in the defences. Percival had expected a crossing in the north-east, especially following a Japanese feint at Pulau Ubin the day before, and failed to reinforce the defenders in time. Communication and leadership failures beset the Allies and there were few defensive positions or reserves near the beachhead . The Japanese advance continued and the Allies began to run out of supplies, particularly after

5850-544: The occupation, the Japanese had also opened the Shonan First People's School. Singapore was the target of various operations masterminded by Allied forces to disrupt Japanese military activities. On 26 September 1943, an Allied commando unit known as Z Force led by Major Ivan Lyon infiltrated Singapore Harbour and sank or damaged seven Japanese ships comprising over 39,000 long tons (40,000 metric tons ). Lyon led another operation, codenamed "Rimau", with

5940-413: The occupation. The prices of basic necessities increased drastically over the three and a half years due to hyperinflation . For example, the price of rice increased from $ 5 per 100 catties (about 60 kg or 130 lb) to $ 5,000 by the end of the occupation between August and September 1945. The Japanese issued ration cards , also known as "Peace Living Certificates", which were very precious to

6030-418: The ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War to a swift conclusion was blamed in part on the lack of resources; Japanese propaganda claimed this was due to the refusal by Western powers to supply Japan's military. Although invading Japanese forces sometimes received rapturous welcomes throughout recently captured Asian territories due to anti-Western and occasionally, anti-Chinese sentiment, the subsequent brutality of

6120-431: The people at that time, to limit the amount of resources distributed to the civilian population. Adults could purchase 5 kg (11 lb) of rice per month and children received 2 kg (4.4 lb) accordingly. The amount of rice for adults was reduced by 25% as the war progressed, as much of the scarce rice supplies were sent to feed the Japanese military. The Japanese issued " Banana Money " (so referred to due to

6210-850: The proceedings of the Lansing-Ishii Agreement , Japan explained to Western observers that their expansionism in Asia was analogous to the United States ' Monroe Doctrine . This conception was influential in the development of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity concept, with the Japanese Army also comparing it to the Roosevelt Corollary . One of the reasons why Japan adopted imperialism was to resolve domestic issues such as overpopulation and resource scarcity . Another reason

6300-411: The recently seized additional portions of China, and occupied French Indochina. A reasonably accurate indication as to the geographic dimensions of the Co-Prosperity Sphere are elaborated on in a Japanese wartime document prepared in December 1941 by the Research Department of the Ministry of War . Known as the "Land Disposal Plan in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" ( 大東亜共栄圏における土地処分案 ) it

6390-489: The same objective almost a year later and sank three ships. Lyon and 13 of his men were killed fighting the Japanese during this operation. The other 10 men who participated in the operation were captured, charged with espionage in a kangaroo court and subsequently executed. Lim Bo Seng of Force 136 led another operation, code-named Gustavus , he recruited and trained hundreds of secret agents through intensive military intelligence missions from China and India. He set up

6480-741: The seeds, pesticides, and technical skills to grow cotton. Jobless farm workers flocked to the cities, where there was minimal relief and few jobs. The Japanese Army also tried using cane sugar for fuel, castor beans and copra for oil, Derris for quinine , cotton for uniforms, and abacá for rope. The plans were difficult to implement due to limited skills, collapsed international markets, bad weather, and transportation shortages. The program failed, giving very little help to Japanese industry and diverting resources needed for food production. As Stanley Karnow writes, Filipinos "rapidly learned as well that 'co-prosperity' meant servitude to Japan's economic requirements". Living conditions were poor throughout

6570-404: The streets often and all commoners had to bow to them with respect when they passed by. Those who failed to do so would be slapped, punched, beaten and some people would even be taken away to imprisonment or even face execution. To discourage Western influence, which Japan sought to eliminate from the very start of their invasion, the Japanese set up schools and education institutions and pressured

6660-618: The superior position within the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, with the other nations under Japan's umbrella of protection. Japanese propaganda was useful in mobilizing Japanese citizens for the war effort, convincing them Japan's expansion was an act of anti-colonial liberation from Western domination. The booklet Read This and the War is Won —for the Japanese Army—presented colonialism as an oppressive group of colonists living in luxury by burdening Asians. According to Japan, since racial ties of blood connected other Asians to

6750-728: The territory designated in the plan at once, but to prepare for a future decisive war some 20 years later by conquering the Asian colonies of the defeated European powers, as well as the Philippines from the United States. When Tōjō spoke on the plan to the House of Peers he was vague about the long-term prospects, but insinuated that the Philippines and Burma might be allowed independence, although vital territories such as Hong Kong would remain under Japanese rule. The Micronesian islands that had been seized from Germany in World War I and which were assigned to Japan as C-Class Mandates , namely

6840-494: The tougher living conditions. The first settlers arrived in September 1943, and although they had been provided with basic farming tools to begin farming, many lacked the experience necessary for farming or construction. This prompted the Overseas Chinese Association to set up a management committee for the settlement, with Robert Tan Hoon Siang , the son of rubber tycoon Tan Chay Yan , being appointed as

6930-468: The two parties, [and] there was no overwhelming despair on the part of the Asians at Japan's defeat". The failure of Japan to understand the goals and interests of the other countries involved in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere led to a weak association of countries bound to Japan only in theory and not in spirit. Ba Maw argued that Japan should've acted according to the declared aims of "Asia for

7020-606: The union the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere , which he announced by radio address. At Yōsuke Matsuoka 's advice, Arita emphasised on the economic aspects more. On August 1, Konoe, who still used the original name, expanded the scope of the union to include the territories of Southeast Asia. On November 5, Konoe reaffirmed that a Japan–Manchukuo–China yen bloc would continue and be "perfected". The outbreak of World War II in Europe gave

7110-644: The war's end. The Imperial Army operated ruthless administrations in most conquered areas but paid more favourable attention to the Dutch East Indies . The main goal was to obtain oil but the Dutch colonial government destroyed the oil wells. However, the Japanese could repair and reopen them within a few months of their conquest. However, most tankers transporting oil to Japan were sunk by U.S. Navy submarines, so Japan's oil shortage became increasingly acute. Japan also sponsored an Indonesian nationalist movement under Sukarno . Sukarno finally came to power in

7200-525: The west of it, and Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and its other areas to the east of it. The plan of the Third Reich for fortifying its own Lebensraum territory's eastern limits, beyond which the Co-Prosperity Sphere's northwestern frontier areas would exist in East Asia, involved the creation of a "living wall" of Wehrbauer "soldier-peasant" communities defending it. However, it

7290-435: Was coming into her own. Pamphlets were dropped by airplane on the Philippines, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore, and Indonesia, urging them to join the movement. Mutual cultural societies were founded in all conquered lands to ingratiate with the natives and try to supplant English with Japanese as the commonly used language. Multi-lingual pamphlets depicted many Asians marching or working together in happy unity, with

7380-597: Was eventually disbanded after the war. In August 1945, two XE class midget submarines of the Royal Navy took part in Operation Struggle , a plan to infiltrate Singapore Harbour and sabotage the Japanese cruisers Takao and Myōkō using limpet mines . They inflicted heavy damage on Takao , earning Lieutenant Ian Edward Fraser the Victoria Cross . From November 1944 to May 1945, Singapore

7470-470: Was followed by a celebration at the Padang , which included a victory parade. Lord Louis Mountbatten , Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia Command , came to Singapore to receive the formal surrender of the Japanese forces in the region from General Seishirō Itagaki on behalf of Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi . A British military administration, using surrendered Japanese troops as security forces,

7560-416: Was formed to govern the island until March 1946. After the Japanese surrendered, there was a state of instability ( anomie ) in Singapore, as the British had not yet arrived to take control. The Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace. There were widespread incidents of looting and revenge killing. Much of the infrastructure had been wrecked, including the harbour facilities and

7650-409: Was mainly used as propaganda. At the conference, Tojo greeted them with a speech praising the "spiritual essence" of Asia instead of the "materialistic civilisation" of the West. Their meeting was characterised by the praise of solidarity and condemnation of Western colonialism but without practical plans for either economic development or integration. Because of a lack of military representatives at

7740-553: Was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan , following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II . Japanese military forces occupied it after defeating the combined British, Indian , Australian , Malayan and the Straits Settlements garrison in the Battle of Singapore . The occupation was to become a major turning point in the histories of several nations, including those of Japan , Britain, and Singapore . Singapore

7830-606: Was put together with the consent of and according to the directions of the Minister of War (later Prime Minister) Hideki Tōjō . It assumed that the already established puppet governments of Manchukuo, Mengjiang , and the Wang Jingwei regime in Japanese-occupied China would continue to function in these areas. Beyond these contemporary parts of Japan's sphere of influence it also envisaged the conquest of

7920-534: Was renamed Syonan-to, meaning "Light of the South Island" and was also included as part of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere ( Japanese : 大東亜共栄圏 , Hepburn : Dai Tōa Kyōeiken ) . Singapore was officially returned to British colonial rule on 12 September 1945, following the formal signing of the surrender at the Municipal Building , currently known as City Hall. After the return of

8010-446: Was subjected to air raids by British and American long-range bomber units. Naval facilities and docks in Singapore were also bombed on eleven occasions by American air units between November 1944 and May 1945. These attacks caused some damage to their targets but also killed a number of civilians. Most Singaporeans, however, welcomed the raids as they were seen as heralding Singapore's liberation from Japanese rule. On 6 August 1945,

8100-627: Was to withstand Western imperialism. On November 3, 1938, Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and Minister for Foreign Affairs Hachirō Arita proposed the development of the New Order in East Asia ( 東亜新秩序 , Tōa Shin Chitsujo ) , which was limited to Japan, China, and the puppet state of Manchukuo. They believed that the union had 6 purposes: The vagueness of the above points were effective in making people more agreeable to militarism and collaborationism . On June 29, 1940, Arita renamed

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