Abstract
The Japanese Armed Forces did not take a long time to occupy the southern regions. Invading the southern regions was the Japanese’s ambition to build “The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”. Through Kalijati treaty, the Government of Dutch East Indies declared its unconditional surrender to the Japanese Armed Forces. Banyuwangi is an area located in the most eastern part of Java and considered as a strategic place as a defense fortress for all Java regions from the allied attacks from the south (Australia). The Japanese 16th Army implemented various policies as a part of the Greater East Asia War plan. The purpose of this study was to describe the policies made by the Japanese military government when occupying Banyuwangi, East Java. This study used a historical research method consisting of five steps: topic selection, heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The result of this study shows that Banyuwangi is a strategic area where the Japanese 16th Army directly or indirectly implemented various policies for mass mobilization in supporting the Greater East Asia War. Through its propaganda, the Japanese military said that the Banyuwangi people’s sacrifice was for a mutual victory in the war to build a new, safe, and prosperous Asia.
Highlights
Many people celebrated the Japanese victory by greeting the Japanese Army, assuming that Japan was the older brother of Indonesia
Based on the background above, this article will describe the policies issued by the Japanese 16th Army in the Banyuwangi regions to support Japan in the East Asian War
The Japanese 16th Army strictly restricted the distribution of clothing materials yet developed the local cotton production on a massive scale
Summary
Many people celebrated the Japanese victory by greeting the Japanese Army, assuming that Japan was the older brother of Indonesia. Sri Adi Oetomo, in his book “Selayang pandang perang kemerdekaan di Bumi Blambangan [An Overview of Independence War in Blambangan]”, stated that the arrival of the Japanese Army in Banyuwangi at the end of 1942 used a big ship with Hinomaru flag and anchored in the old Banyuwangi harbour (known as Boom today) [8]. His statement related to the arrival of the Japanese Army in Banyuwangi at the end of 1942 was wrong because, in the early March 1942, there was a battle between the Japanese Army and the Dutch troops in Banyuwangi [9] and on 6 March 1942, quoted a message from Tokyo broadcasted on Berlin radio saying that the Japanese Army occupied Banyuwangi in March [10,11,12]. Based on the background above, this article will describe the policies issued by the Japanese 16th Army in the Banyuwangi regions to support Japan in the East Asian War
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