The Loveday Exchange, Australia, 1942: The Japanese Naval Spies Return to Java

Abstract

When Nishijima Shigetada visited Jakarta in 1991, he was greeted as an historical hero. His first arrival there in 1937 had been under the auspices of Japanese Naval Intelligence. With a background in Tokyo of university studies in German language and an early interest in international affairs, particularly the war in China, Nishijima had been recruited by Naval Intelligence to increase Japanese influence in the Nanyang, the region of the Southern Seas. Six months before his arrival in July of 1937, parliamentary debate in Japan had focused on possible Japanese colonization of Netherlands New Guinea. This unexplored territory covered half of the world's largest tropical island-so large that it equaled the combined area of the four main islands of Japan. Advancing Japanese aspirations in the Nanyang, in commerce or in discussions regarding colonization, caused the Dutch government in Batavia to upgrade its surveillance of all who promoted Indonesian nationalism among the colonial subjects. Nishijima, however, escaped detection, despite the fact that his prewar tasks involved fostering the spirit of independence and collecting information regarding Indonesia, that is, the Netherlands East Indies.'