Japanese Occupation In Sea

Japanese Occupation in South-east Asia

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background Pg. 3

Thesis Pg. 3

Research questions Pg. 3

Rationale Pg. 3

Methodology Pg. 4

Chapter 2: Literature Review Pg. 5

Primary sources Pg. 5

Secondary sources Pg. 6

Chapter 3: Research Methodology Pg. 8

Procedure Pg. 8

Types of sources Pg. 8

Compiling and presenting the data Pg. 8

Chapter 4: Results and findings Pg. 10

Background information Pg. 10

Conflict between Japan and United States Pg. 11

The Japanese Occupation (1942 Ð'- 1945) Pg. 11

Chapter 5: Discussion and interpretation Pg. 24

The causes or motives of Japanese Occupation Pg. 24

The effect of Japanese Occupation Pg. 25

Propaganda Pg. 26

Chapter 6: Conclusion Pg. 28

Acknowledgements Pg. 29

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background:

The Pacific War opened on 7 December 1941, and Japanese troops started invading other Asian countries. Singapore, which was a colony of Britain at that time, fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942. Since then, the people in South-east Asia had great sufferings. During the Japanese Occupation, many people suffered and some even died. Finally, the Japanese surrendered after the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and the nightmare was finally over.

Thesis:

War does more harm than good.

Research questions:

Ð'* What are the main causes & motives of the Japanese Occupation

Ð'* What are the main effects of Japanese Occupation to the people at that time?

Ð'* What are the instruments of propaganda during Japanese Occupation and how did they affect the thinking of the people?

Rationale:

During the Japanese Occupation, many people suffered and some even died. The Japanese Occupation was really a nightmare at that time. We want to find out whether war does more harm or does more good. We should learn our lessons from the Japanese Occupation, apply them to today's life, and prevent this from happening.

Methodology:

In this paper, I will research on Japanese Occupation in South-east Asia. I will focus on the main causes and effects of Japanese Occupation, and the how did the propaganda at that time affected the people's thinking and compare it with the reality.

According to the thesis, "War does more harm than good", by knowing the effects of it, we can prove my thesis. In order to prevent this from happening again, we must find out the main causes of Japanese Occupation and thus prevent it from happening. The research on the propaganda can be used to educate the people to distinguish between propaganda and the reality.

The sources of this paper include primary sources such as photographs, war diaries and newspaper articles at that time. Sources also include secondary sources such as books related to Japanese Occupation by those who went through Japanese Occupation, oral accounts and also interview. One good example of secondary sources is Lee Kuan Yew's Memoirs.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Primary sources:

As primary sources, I will use two photographs taken about the Nanking Rape from and also some of the posters during the Japanese Occupation.

Source 1:

These disgusting photographs taken during the Nanking Rape shows how could the Japanese become so cruel. The pictures show many heads and bodies on the ground and makes everyone thinks that the one who did it was really cold-blooded. From here, we can know how the people will live under those cold-blooded Japanese. This picture can also let us know what does a massacre look like.

Source 2:

The second source I found is some of the posters by the Japanese and they are examples of propaganda by the Japanese during Japanese Occupation. These posters are important in reflecting what the Japanese were aiming for at the time. Some of them are to stir up trouble between their enemies so that they will not be unity, some of them are to make the people loyal to Japan and some of them are to encourage the people to donate to the Japanese for military purposes. We can also see from those propagandas that the Japanese are only doing all these for themselves, but not for anybody else, even the people in the country, and this is the reality of war. Other than these, we can also compare what was said in the propagandas and the situation at that time, and we will see the reality of war, thus we will know what war is all about, which is greed, cruelty and pain.

In the primary sources, I will be looking for the situation at that time which includes the people's life, the condition of the place and the war and also the measures the Japanese took to control the people at that place. I will also be looking at the Japanese propaganda and analyze them. I will look at the purpose of the propaganda, the target of it and also the effects of it to the thinking of the people. From the primary sources, I should be able to figure out and imagine the situation during the Japanese Occupation, reach at a conclusion of is war good or bad, and apply the lessons learnt to today's life.

Secondary sources:

For secondary source, I will use Lee Kuan Yew's Memoirs and an oral account on Japanese Occupation by Mr. Soon Eng Bo.

Source