GES1015: Lecture 7 - The occupation

Occupation of an Imperial Power

"What was there in so call asia before the european appears?" 

There were already imperialism in Asia, kingdoms that conquered many land

The use of imperial power is use control and to exploit others. 

Why do we consider Japanese's arrival as the Japanese occupation of singapore? Isn't it just like an imperial colonialism. The Japanese saw how the european are conquering other country so they wanted to be like that as well.

Note: We will stop using the word occupation power now but as the second imperial encounter

The imperial contest

The japanese advance in December 1941 in Kelantan. The siamese(Thai) allow them passage through the country.

Because of that, they were given land by the Japanese.

Singapore was then rename to syonan. 

The japanese even brought photographers to the war zone, they knew they were going to win. 

Singapore's time was also changed to follow Japanese clock as well. 

The time was no longer to reference to the sun but to Tokyo's time.

Japan even close the japanese consulate to tell others that this space belongs to Japan.

Japanese leaders in tokyo have aspiration of rallying an asia wide solidarity

They wanted to grow and develop the sphere under Japan.

Japanese also have natural resources like tin and rubber in controlling british Malaya.

They wanted to get resources as well

Even thou they have such great dreams, the japanese personnel are quite unpredictable. They were young. Given so much authority, they abuse authority and did many things to the people in this space. This did not give a good optic to these people. The early actions of these people created a bad viewpoint of these Japanese as a whole collectively.

The story was much thicker and deeper.

Life did resume in certain location that were not destroyed that much after the Japanese established themselves.

All resident suffered the brunt of these personnel. There were other wartime difficulaties in form of scarcity expectedly led to conflict, intercommunal and otherwise. 

War is a story of human desperation.

People will do things that normally they wont do. They did these because they were desperate.

The chinese suffered the most from the japanese compared to the Malays.

The chinese were always suspected for working with the British.

These cause to many groups of Malays that were seen as Japanese colloborators.

People did these to feed themselves, it was in desperation.

"What was Britain Surrendering?"

Were they surrendering Singapore? Malay States? British Malaya? 

Was it only these specific spaces?

Generallically these are just bits of the British Imperial Domain.

There was a change in Imperial overlord.

Why did we call it an occupation? Why did we not call the british occupation.

The japanese want to be like the Europeans as well. Singapore just have a change of rulership.

An Imperial Power transfer.

-> Better than Pacific war, ww2 and Japanese Occupation

Imperialist remember

Japanese wanted to rallying an Asia-Wide solidarity.

But they also warned the Japanese to keep close control of overseas in chinese.

They did not specify what close control means so they interpreted as having a civilian detention camps or kill suspect.

Any hint of chinese aggression is dealt harshly.

Masanobu Tsuji

Disappear in 1961

He wrote down his memoirs about the Japanese imperalism

Does not mention the purge

Shinozaki Mamoru

Issue Good Citizen Paases

Embassy officer

Help found the overseas chinese association

In his book, mamoru show how he help the Chinese during the war. 

Teacher: Feel that the story is not credible and not straightforward.

Watanabe Wataru

Style of government is by Bayonet.

Aware of singapore massacre third only to Nanking and Manila.

Claims to be busy in his office and "did not know anything about it"

He is responsible for demanding 50 million dollars from Overseas Chinese in Malaya as compensation for Japanese military.

Responsible for significant damages by reversing positive policies(Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere).

The events on the ground make it hard to proof what tokyo strives to do.

Historian Saburo IEnaga

He wrote books talking about the dark sides of the war.

He want the people to be remorseful about the war. 

Wars emerge because of greed and capitalism. They question on why human 

(Nietzsche, Marx, Freuda and Derrida)

Takashima Nobuyoshi

Work on a book that as translated an publish by chiense malaysians.

Flies groups of japanese to southeast asian war theatres.

He brings groups of japanese to see the people who were affected by the war.

Visit memorial sits, graves, victims.

There are people who did not deny the past and actually want to reconcile with the people who suffer in the war.

Making sense of second imperial encounter

Understand the nuance of this imperial Relationship

Diet;s rhetoric, position and concerns.

Translated differently by different men at different spots.

Even in war theatre, difference of opinion between millitary and administratice/bureaucractic arms.

Difference even at different levels.

Does imperial relationship eventually end?

We remember, revise, apologise, reparations

The strangely worded documents:

"Unhappy events"

Imperial Legacies

Singapore had at least two imperial Experiences.

Were these experiences significantly different?

British variant is remembered more positively than the shorter and apparently more brutal Japanese variety.

The japanese apologise but what about the British?

The british use moralism to try and punish the japanese in singapore after the war. 

The british actually did the same as the japanese but just in another space. They murdered, raped and killed many Kenyan's during the British conquest of that empire. 

Caroline Elkins:

Found that there were certain part of the documents that were left out.

She research and interview the older people of Kenya. She realised of the brutallity of Imperalism of British.

She wrote a book that show the british brutality.

She encourage people to bring the british govenement to court and they warn.

People with alot of power would always behave very brutal. They will always be the oppressor.