Modern Japan and Indonesia; The dynamics and legacy of wartime rule

Abstract

Japan's military administration presented a very different picture, partly because it was conducted in conjunction with the prosecution of the war, and it was characterized by ideological, fanatical romanticism. [...]Japanese military men dealt with Indonesians in a kasar (rough, crude) fashion symbolized by the practice of 'face slapping'. According to one theory, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association was founded upon the 7 Jawa nenkan (1944:42). [...]let me express my personal observation as a Japanese concerning this still fraught theme. The Japanese pledge to liberate Asia and other policies - even if they did lead to positive results - were no more than the pretext for achieving the real goals (obtaining oil and other natural resources as well as manpower). [...]the views that the independence won by Southeast Asian countries was the materialization of the ideals of the Greater East Asia War, that independence would have been impossible had the Japanese occupation not occurred, or had Japan not practised benevolence through its own sacrifice are oversimplified ideas that have confused the effects with the causes.