Indonesia to Use Negative Word to Describe Past Japanese Rule

Jakarta, Feb. 2 (Jiji Press)–Indonesia will use a word with more negative connotations to describe its period under Japanese military rule during World War II in a revised history book its government plans to release soon. Japan adopted a form of rule bearing the characteristics of colonialism, such as deprivation of sovereignty and economic exploitation, Singgih Tri Sulistiyono, professor at Diponegoro University, has told Jiji Press. The term colonial rule better describes the actual historical experience, said Singgih, who led the revision of the history book. According to the professor, the word occupation in the Indonesian language carries positive connotations while meaning something cruel. But the term colonialism only points to cruel nature. In the current history book, the Japanese military rule is described as occupation, while Dutch rule is referred to as colonization. The book says that the Japanese military’s requisition of locals as a labor force and the spirit of “bushido,” or a samurai mindset, taught to young local people later happened to prove useful in Indonesia’s war of independence. Singgih said that even though the rulers changed from Westerners to Asians, what people experienced was conquest, coercion and violence, unchanged in essence. The professor added that through the change in the term, the history will be reread from the viewpoint of those who were oppressed. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly made critical remarks on past foreign control of Indonesia. According to Singgih, the change in the term matches the view of the president that the independence of Indonesia resulted from a long experience of injustice, not from somebody’s goodwill. The history book revision involves more than 120 experts. The government originally planned to release it to coincide with the 80th anniversary of its independence in August last year. The government now aims to publish it within this month. During the Pacific theater of World War II, Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, in hopes of securing strategic goods such as oil. It occupied the region in March 1942 and kept it under military rule until 1945. In 1944, the Japanese government issued a statement supporting Indonesia’s future independence. After the war, some former Japanese soldiers joined Indonesia’s war of independence. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]