The March 1996 issue of the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies is a special issue dealing with the Japanese Occupation in Southeast Asia. Synopses of the articles included in this issue are as follows:

Dr Paul H Kratoska
Editor
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (ISSN: 0022-4634)

Synopses

"The Indonesian Nationalists: Visions and Reactions towards the Japanese `Liberation' of Indonesia" by Elly Touwen-Bouwsma: During the Japanese invasion of Java, local nationalists came to the fore and set up Merdeka Committees to welcome their "liberators". The high hopes they entertained thatthe Japanese would give them a say in the local administration and economy, or even grant them independence, turned out to be an illusion.

"The Japanese Military and Indonesian Independence" by Laszlo Sluimers: The article deals with the question of whether during the Pacific War there was a community of interest between the Japanese military and Indonesian nationalists. This point is mainly denied. Nationalists did want to use the Japanese to oust Dutch rule, but as soon as this was effected relations soured. The Japanese military wanted to use Indonesia as a source of the raw materials essential for war, and as a reservoir of labour. The Indonesians wished to settle their own affairs without any outside interference. These objectives were incompatible.

"Japanese Attitudes toward the Indonesian Independence in 1945" by Ken'ichi Goto: In September 1944 the Japanese government promised to give "independence in the near future" to Indonesia. However, when Japan surrendered in 1945, the Allies ordered the Japanese authorities to suppress any move by the Indonesians toward independence. Caught between their old promise and their new role, the Japanese exhibited contrasting patterns of behaviour. This paper analyzes their reactions by using two categories, the "allegiance type" of person who adhered to Allied instructions, and the "renunciation type" who attempted to honour the promise given to the Indonesians.

"`Japanese Time' and the Mica Mine: Experiences of the Occupation in the Western Central Sulawesi Highlands" by Lorraine Aragon: During World War II, Japanese soldiers forced highlanders in western Central Sulawesi to operate a mica mine. Questions about the mine's purpose are clarified by examining mica's strategic uses for wartime electronics. Accounts of the occupation by highlanders contribute to understanding changes in their post-war religious and ethnic identities.

"WWII and the Prewar Japanese in the Philippines" by Lydia N. Yu-Jose: The prewar Japanese in the Philippines, the largest Japanese community in Southeast Asia, had humble beginnings, but due to their own efforts and support from the Japanese government, they rose economically and socially, only to lose everything at the end of the war.

"Life in the Occupied Zone: One Negros Planter's Experience of War" by Josefina D. Hofilena: Throughout the Japanese occupation of the Visayan island of Negros in the central Philippines, two armed groups -- the Japanese and the Negros guerrillas -- sought to win the support and cooperation of the civilian population. The wartime experiences of Negros sugar planter Jose Gaston reveal, however, that this need to cultivate civilian support did not shield civilians from abuses by both sides.

"Aurelio Alvero: Traitor or Patriot?" by Grant Goodman Aurelio Alvero (1913-1958) was a brilliant and complex Filipino intellectual who was found guilty of collaboration with Japan by the postwar Philippine People's Court and spent 1945-47 and 1950-52 in prison. An examination of his prewar and wartime activities leads to the conclusion that Alvero was neither a traitor nor a patriot but rather a romantic opportunist who saw the advent of the Japanese in the Philippines as potentially providing him with a previously unattained level of power and authority in his own society.

"Lt. Shigenobu Mochizuki and the New Philippine Culture Institute" by Motoe Terami-wada: This paper illustrates the Japanese cultural policy towards the Philippines through the example of the New Philippine Cultural Institute, an educational institution created by the Japanese military to inculcate the Filipino youth with patriotism and to nurture the future leaders of the "New Philippines". This organization developed later into a volunteer army which showed determination to fight against the returning U.S. forces.

"The Records of the Former Japanese Army Concerning the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines" by Midori Kawashima: One field of study which still remains unexplored in connection with the Japanese occupation is to examine theJapanese army's view of events by using Japanese military records. This paper gives an outline of records relating to the occupation of the Philippines found at the Military Archives of the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo, and discusses their historical significance.

"Britain, Portugal and East Timor in 1941" by Nicholas Tarling During the period between the opening of the war in Europe in September 1939 and the attack on Pearl Harbor and Malaya in December 1941, the British sought to limit Japanese penetration into Southeast Asia, while guarding, insofar as they could, against any Japanese advance. The policy applied to East Timor. But the Portuguese were touchy about interference and apprehensive about Macau.

"Japan's Intentions for Its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as Indicated in Its Policy Plans for Thailand" by William L. Swan: The article examines the intent of the Japanese for their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It relies on documents that the Japanese government prepared in September 1942 which set forth prospective policy towards Thailand as a member of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. The proposals in these documents specified the political and diplomatic relations Japan expected to have with Thailand, and they were very specific regarding Japan's control over Thailand's economy as a part of the Co- Prosperity Sphere. The documents indicate that the Japanese were aiming at establishing a well-organized, well-regulated sphere as a unity as dictated by Japan. The organic nature that the Japanese envisioned for the Co-Prosperity Sphere was patterned on the same organic unity that they had applied to building and controlling their empire between 1895 and 1945.

"Phra Sarasas: Rebel with Many Causes" by Benjamin A. Batson: Phra Sarasas, author of _My Country Thailand_, a historical work critical of the Thai monarchy, claimed to have shaped the 1932 overthrow of the absolute monarchy in Siam. He became Minister of Economic Affairs briefly in 1937, and promoted the pro-Japanese cause in Thailand with sufficient enthusiasm to be accused of war crimes after the Japanese surrender, but escaped prosecution when the Thai Supreme Court ruled that the War Crimes Act was illegal. His limited political career never matched his aspirations and Phra Sarasas remained a marginal figure, but his life and work nevertheless throw an interesting light on events during this formative period of modern Thai history.

"Thai Wartime Leadership Reconsidered: Phibun and Pridi" by Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian: World War II may have ended fifty years ago, yet it is clear that numerous evaluations, interpretations, and assessments made by historians and scholars on this period in Southeast Asian history have not sufficiently reflected the intrinsic values of the wartime events, personalities, and developments involved. This is particularly true in the case of two wartime leaders in Thailand -- Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram and Pridi Phanomyong. The article attempts to re-assess and update both their place in Thai history and their contributions to the socio-political development of the country.

"Japan and the Vietnamese Caodaists: A Wartime Relationship" by Tran My-Van: The study describes an asymmetric relationship between Vietnamese Caodaists, followers of the Cao Dai religion, and the Japanese during World War Two. The Caodaists maintained a pro-Japanese stance throughout the occupation, based on their judgement that they could in this way advance the nationalist cause and achieve independence from French rule. The position of the Caodaists immediately after the end of World War Two was adversely affected as a result of their wartime collaboration.