SEC 2 HIST 6

• Syonan-to


  Light of the South Island (in Japanese)
• Japanese Occupation of Singapore

  15 February 1942 - 12 September 1945
• Time moved to one and a half hours to match the Tokyo time
• Singaporeans lived in constant fear and hopelessness, lacked basic needs
• How the Japanese Established Control in Singapore

  1. Using force

  2. Winning loyalty
• Using Force


  • Harsh punishments
  • Imprisoning allied soldiers
  • Carrying out Operation Sook Ching
  • Coercing the Chinese Business Community
• Harsh punishments


  • Executing those caught stealing, displaying heads in public places
  • Rewarding informants with food or cash
• Over time, people didn't trust each other and learnt to keep quiet to avoid unwanted attention
• Imprisoning Allied Soldiers


  • POWs forced to march from Bukit Timah Road to Changi Prison
  • Civilians passed them food and money despite risk of punishment
• Operation Sook Ching


  Meaning "Cleansing" in Chinese, a brutal purge to identify and eliminate anti-Japanese Chinese
• Japanese records show 6,000 people were killed, other sources show 25,000 to 50,000 killed
• Coercing the Chinese Business Community

  • Targeting Chinese businessmen who contributed to the China Relief Fund
  • Creating the Overseas Chinese Association (OCA) to communicate with the Chinese community
• Winning Loyalty


  • Using propaganda
  • Providing benefits to the locals
  • Imposing Japanese culture
  • Teaching Japanese language
  • Cultivating the Japanese spirit
• Using Propaganda


  • Portraying themselves as liberators
  • Promoting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
  • Trying to gain favour with the Indian community
• Providing Benefits to the Locals


  • Free schooling and accommodation
  • Distributing goods like vice, sugar and salt to the poor Malays and Indians
  • Charging lower fees for Malays and Indians to cross the Causeway
• Imposing Japanese Culture


  1. Making children and adults learn Japanese culture and spirit

  2. Teaching the Japanese language (Nippon-go)

  3. Requiring students to sing the Japanese national anthem and bow to the Emperor's picture

  4. Daily mass exercises broadcast on public radio
• Daily Life Under the Japanese

  • Dealing with shortages
  • Dealing with disease and death
  • Relocations
• Dealing with Shortages


  • War disrupting trade and limiting imports
  • Locals only getting fixed ration quantities
  • Prices drastically increasing, causing inflation and a black market
• Disease and Death


  • Healthcare and sanitation worsening due to war and food shortages
  • Over 130,000 deaths between 1942-1945, especially affecting POWs and civilian prisoners
  • Common diseases included beriberi, pneumonia, and dysentery
• Japanese used POWs for forced labour
• Trade was limited, with the import of goods restricted to those from overseas
• Available resources were given to Japanese war efforts instead of the people
• Locals could only get a fixed quantity of rations/essential items using ration coupons
• Prices of items drastically increased, causing inflation
• A black market flourished
• People had to pay extremely high prices for basic necessities
• The Japanese printed more banknotes, causing them to lose value and eventually be worth nothing by the end of the Japanese Occupation
• Healthcare and sanitation were bad due to the war, worsened by food shortages, causing nearly 130,000 deaths between 1942-1945
• The most affected group were the POWs and civilian prisoners, who faced continuous shortages of medicine and food, acute overcrowding, and the spread of diseases like beriberi, pneumonia, and dysentery
• The Japanese used POWs for forced labour, making them clear war damage, bury the dead, and build Japanese memorial shrines
• From May 1942, many POWs were sent to work on the Siam-Burma Railway (also known as the Death Railway), resulting in more than 16,000 deaths under horrific working conditions
• People were encouraged to grow their own food like tapioca and sweet potatoes, but when this failed to solve the food shortage, the Japanese relocated people to increase agricultural output
• The Endau settlement in Johor had rich soil and ample water, making it suitable for agriculture, but it faced attacks by bandits and anti-Japanese guerrillas
• The Banau settlement in Negeri Sembilan, Malaya, had poor soil and hilly land that was unsuitable for agriculture, leading some to resort to eating rats and maggots, and many died
• Radio programmes consisted of Japanese songs, Malay music, and news in Hokkien and Cantonese, as well as Japanese movies and documentaries, and free open-air screenings of propaganda shows
• Sports and cultural activities were organised to reduce the stress of wartime conditions, including football, baseball, tennis, and badminton matches, as well as boxing matches and police band performances
• POWs also tried to keep their spirits up by organising and participating in social, religious, and sporting activities, such as publishing newspapers, organising theatrical performances and church services, and painting murals at Changi Chapel
• The majority of the locals tried to avoid being noticed by the Japanese and simply went on with their lives, while some collaborated with the Japanese willingly or were threatened/forced to do so, and others chose to actively resist
• The Japanese needed the Malays' support in administering their rule, and gave them jobs like policing and spying on suspected hostile activity, while some Chinese became informants during the Sook Ching Operation
• Seven senior officers of the Malay Regiment refused to fight for Japan, causing them to be executed, and locals joined resistance forces like the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and Force 136, which worked closely with the British to drive the Japanese out of Singapore