During the occupation, Japan took over Korea’s labor and land. This sequence of events clearly rebuts the claims. See also Yuki Tanaka, “Last Words of the Tiger of Malaya, General Yamashita Tomoyuki,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, September 22, 2005. In 1984, while the textbook controversy continued, a bulky book called Malayan Chinese Resistance to Japan 1937-1945: Selected Source Materials was published in Singapore. In 1996, the Singapore Heritage Society’s book, SYONAN: Singapore under the Japanese, 1942-1945 was translated into Japanese. The mass screening was carried out mainly by Kempeitai personnel between 21 and 23 February in urban areas, and by the Imperial Guard Division at the end of February in suburban districts. However, Japan forced Manchukuo to enact a law in September 1932 that granted authority to army officers, both Japanese and Manchurian, as well as police officers, to execute anti-Japanese activists on the spot without trial. [21] Asada Kyoji and Kobayashi Hideo (eds. Sections of this volume were translated into Japanese in 1986 under the title Nihongun Senryoka no Singapore [Singapore under Japanese Occupation], allowing Japanese to read in their own language Singaporean testimony concerning wartime events. [19] Ōnishi, Hiroku Shonan Kakyō Shukusei Jiken, p. 86. Kawamura Saburo, Jusan Kaidan wo Noboru [Walking up Thirteen Steps of Stairs] (Tokyo: Ato Shobo, 1952). While there has been valuable research carried out on the Japanese military administration of Malaya and Singapore, no detailed Japanese study of the killing has appeared. The First Sino-Japanese War erupted in August 1894 over control of the Korean peninsula. Ōnishi, Hiroku Shonan Kakyō Shukusei Jiken, pp. A third important point is that the headquarters of the 25th Army included other hardliners aside from Tsuji and Yamashita. A third explanation offered for the massacre is that anti-Japanese Chinese were preparing for an armed insurrection, and that law and order was deteriorating in Singapore. This method of execution, which denied judicial due process to Chinese captives, was usually called Genju Shobun (Harsh Disposal) or Genchi Shobun (Disposal on the Spot) by the Japanese military. In 1940, following Yamashita’s transfer, intensive cleanup operations called San guang zhengce (Kill All, Loot All, Burn All; J. Sanko seisaku) were launched involving unbridled terror during which numerous people in contested areas were massacred or driven from their villages. Shōsetsu Nihonshi [The Details of Japanese History] (Tokyo: Yamakawa Shoten, 2001), p. 332. After the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese War (1937) and of World War II in the Pacific (1941), Japan attempted to obliterate Korea as a nation: Koreans were forced to worship at Japanese Shintō shrines and even to adopt Japanese-style names, and academic societies devoted to Korean studies as well as newspapers and magazines published in Korean were banned. Mind map: How different races are treated during the occupation of singapore by the japanese -> Eurasians (they were treated harshly), Chinese (chinese became victims of japanese atrocities), Malay/Indians (they were not regarded as a threat) The Japanese army faced a strong anti-Japanese campaign and public order remained unstable. Although the Singapore Massacre generated scant interest among the Japanese people in the postwar era, there has been some discussion of the incident. [38]  Hara Fujio, “Mareishia, Shingaporu no Baishō Mondai” [Reparation Problem with Singapore and Malaysia], Sensō Sekinin Kenkyu [The Report on Japan’s War Responsibility], No. After the Manchurian Incident in 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria, setting up the puppet state of “Manchukuo” in 1932. ), Maraya no Nihongun [The Japanese Army in Malaya] (Tokyo: Aoki Shoten, 1989). The Japanese occupation caused uncertainty and chaos for the local residents. A second point raised is that the Chinese in Malaya were passing intelligence to the British and that Chinese guerrillas were engaged in subversive activities against Japanese forces during the Malayan campaign, for example by flashing signals to British airplanes. There were, however, some honest responses in subsequent years. ), Gaikoku no Kyōkasho no nakano Nihon to Nihonjin [Japan and Japanese in a Foreign Textbook] (Tokyo: Ikkosha, 1988). Kawamura’s diary is preserved in the National Archives of the UK in London. [16] One piece of evidence cited by the defense during the trial was an entry in Kawamura’s personal diary for 19 February that purportedly said looting still continued in the city. After the Manchurian Incident in 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria, setting up the puppet state of “Manchukuo” in 1932. Otani Keijiro, Kenpei [The Military Police] (Tokyo: Shin-Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1973), p. 189. In 1987, I located official military documents in the Library of the National Institute for Defense Studies, Defense Agency that included operational orders and official diaries related to the massacre of Chinese in Negri Sembilan and Malacca in 1942. Jiang Jieshi was widely criticised for his wartime leadership, for placing more importance on the struggle against the communists than the Japanese. Newspapers throughout Japan reported these findings, the first time that public attention focused on the killings in Malaya. The Japanese translation was as follows: Takashima Nobuyoshi & Hayashi Hirofumi (eds. 1. How Different Races were Treated During Japanese Occupation Chinese Became victims of Japanese atrocities. B. [40] “Kessai: Shingaporu no Chugokujin Gyakusatsu Jiken” [Blood Debt: Chinese Massacre in Singapore], in Chugoku [China], vol. The Syonan Gallery's controversial name is a good one, says World War II … [34], Personal mementoes of Singaporeans excavated during the 1960s and presently exhibited in the Sun Yat-sen villa, In 2003, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released documents relating to the negotiations between Singapore and Japan during this period. 29-51. Although the Singapore Massacre generated scant interest among the Japanese people in the postwar era, there has been some discussion of the incident. Under pressure from the Ministry of Education, the Liberal Democratic Party, and other neo-nationalists, statements in school textbooks about Japanese atrocities have become less common, and the Minister of Education said in 2004 that it was desirable that descriptions of Japanese atrocities be dropped. First, it should be noted that the Japanese occupation of Singapore began a decade after the start of Japan’s war of aggression against China. ), Nihon Teikokushugi no Manshu Shihai [Administration of Manchuria by the Japanese Imperialism] (Tokyo: Jicho-Sha, 1986), p. 180. It remains active, although the scope of research has been extended to Japanese atrocities in China and the rest of Southeast Asia. Ōnishi, Hiroku Shonan Kakyō Shukusei Jiken, pp. Although this recommendation was not approved by the British government, it reflects the Japanese government’s refusal to admit that mass murder had occurred in Singapore. This was reported in the Japanese press, but only as minor news. ), Kesareta Sabaki: NHK Bangumi Kaihen to Seiji Kainyu Jiken [Deleted Judgment: Interpolation of  the NHK TV Program and the Politicians’ Intervention] (Tokyo: Gaifusha, 2005). In June 1938, Jiang ordered the dykes of the Yellow River dam to be blown, a desperate attempt to slow the advance of the Japanese invasion. Unlike the Japanese, the Chinese military had no tanks and only a few aircraft. Title: “The Second Sino-Japanese War” Clearly, then, the Singapore Massacre was not the conduct of a few evil people, but was consistent with approaches honed and applied in the course of a long period of Japanese aggression against China and subsequently applied to other Asian countries. The Battle of Singapore, the Massacre of Chinese and Understanding of the Issue in Postwar Japan. [4]  This document is preserved in the Library of the National Institute for Defense Studies [LNIDS], Defense Agency, Tokyo. [56], In 1996, the Singapore Heritage Society’s book, SYONAN: Singapore under the Japanese, 1942-1945 was translated into Japanese. Photo: North China Railway … While he had experienced trouble with anti-Japanese guerillas in the Philippines, he commented to the deputy chief of staff that his policy of dealing harshly with the local population in Singapore had made the local population there become docile.[25]. [2]  My survey of official documents of the Japanese military revealed two sources that specified the number massacred. Although even ex-Kempeitai officers involved have admitted that the killings were inhumane and unlawful, little attention has been paid to the episode in Japan. It is important to note that the purge was planned before Japanese troops landed in Singapore. [30] FO371/105435(National Archives, UK). 4. [40] The piece was mostly written by Professor Tanaka Hiroshi. [49] Based on information Takashima collected during repeated visits to Malaysia and Singapore beginning in the early 1980s, the booklet discussed atrocities and provided details of the “Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation” and of an exhibition of victim mementos at the Sun Yat-sen Villa. For more info, visit Alpha History or our Terms of Use. A Japanese government committee was in charge of recommending the parole and release of war criminals to the Allied Nations. Fourth, among Japanese military officers and men there was a culture of prejudice toward the Chinese and other Asian people. These attitudes had deepened following the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and were embedded within the Japanese population as a whole by the 1930s. Thus, this line of argument is refuted by a military officer who was directly involved in the events.[15]. See Hayashi Hirofumi, Sabakareta Senso Hanzai, p. 224. [55] Tokyo: Suzusawa Shoten, 1992. They claim that a purge was necessary to restore public order, and this point was raised at the war crimes trial in Singapore. Tokyo: Suzusawa Shoten, 1992. One of the major points is that the Chinese volunteer forces, such as the Dalforce, the Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, fought fiercely and caused heavy Japanese casualties. Singapore was to receive 25 million Singapore dollars as a gift and another 25 million Singapore dollars in credit, while Malaysia was to receive 25 million Malaysia dollars as a gift. Several hundred thousands of Malayan civilian Chinese were brutally tortured and killed. If the current ultra-nationalistic trend continues, it seems likely that even the few descriptions of the Singapore massacre that do exist will be eliminated. [45] On the whole, nobody denied that the Japanese purge in Singapore was an atrocity against humanity and historians began to pay attention to the episode. The Kempeitai was Japan’s military police force in its occupied territories during World War II (1942–45). At the time of the war crimes trials, Tsuji had not been arrested. Sensō Giseisha wo Kokoro ni Kizamukai [Society for Keeping War Victims in our Heart], Nihongun no Maresia Jumin Gyakusatu [The Massacres of Malaysian Local Population by the Japanese Military] (Osaka: Toho Shuppan, 1989). [25] Kojima Jo, Shisetu Yamashita Tomoyuki [Historical Narrative Yamashita Tomoyuki] (Tokyo: Bungei Shunjusha, 1969), p. 325. From 1937, Genju Shobun was applied regularly throughout the China-Japan War., with civilians denied the right of trial and Chinese soldiers denied prisoner of war status[22], Yamashita Tomoyuki, the 25th Army commander who directed the invasion of Malaya, played an important role in the evolution of Genju Shobun. [60] The most widely used textbook states simply that “atrocities took place in Singapore and elsewhere”. Moreover, while the Singapore Massacre is well known to scholars, similar killings in the Malay Peninsula only came to the attention of the Japanese public in the late 1980s after I discovered documents relating to the Japanese military units involved. He delivered a speech at the Army Academy in 1941 advocating strong pressure against those who "bent their knees" to the British and thereby betrayed East Asia. Another significant publication was a 1987 booklet by Takashima Nobuyoshi, then a high school teacher and now a professor at Ryukyu University, entitled Tabi Shiyo Tonan-Ajia E [Let’s travel to Southeast Asia]. The Japanese treatment of prisoners of war in World War II was barbaric - but photographs have emerged showing just how bad they treated their captives. [16] Furyo Kankei Chōsa Chuō Iinkai [Central Board of Inquiry on POWs], “Shingaporu ni okeru Kakyō Shodan Jōkyō Chōsho” [Record of Investigation on the Execution of Overseas Chinese in Singapore], 23 Oct. 1945 (Reprinted in Nagai Hitoshi (ed. The Oversea Chinese Association (OCA), or 昭南岛华侨协会, was established in March 1942 during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942–45). [53] Originally published in 1988. Recommended citation: Hayashi Hirofumi, “The Battle of Singapore, the Massacre of Chinese and Understanding of the Issue in Postwar Japan”  The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. Operation Sook Ching was started. Prolonged discussions between the Singaporean and Japanese governments relating to these deaths led to a settlement in 1967. [24], During the final phase of the war, Yamashita was appointed commander of the 14th Area Army in the Philippines, where he surrendered to US forces at the end of the war. 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