Story
Life under Japanese control
By:Yechan lee
The Kempeitai was the military police force administered by the Japanese War Ministry during WWII over the Occupied Territories of Japan.The Kempeitai was notorious in Singapore and other occupied territories for atrocities.It was specially trained group to restrain all the uprising against Japanese rules and to interrogate the civilians lived in Singapore to gather some important information.No wonder that Japanese laws in Singapore under Japanese control were strict because in order to control its conlony well strict laws should be needed to control people. The Kempeitai was founded on 4 January 1881 by the order of the Meiji Council of State.It was found to educate army officers and farmers who strongly controverted against the conscription law.Their powers started to extend rapidly with General Hideki Tojo becoming the Vice-Minister of War.From 1895 to 1945.Kempeitai developed a vast system of impact and got to be ubiquitous in the Great East Asia Co-Existence Sphere, that is the Occupied Territorie of Japan.They built many facilities to control its colony well.Ministry of water was Lieutenant Colonel Msayuki Oishi with his central station at the YMCA in Stamford Road, which additionally served as the East District Branch.The Kempeitai jail was located in Stamford Road,Chinatown,the Central Police Station.Then their massacre started with huge number of Chinese killed by Kempeitai in order to pressure people.The reason why the target of massacre was Kempeitai met with strong Chinese resistance including those from outside China.Soon they dispreaded their interrogations.According to the National Archive of Singapore once you are arrested by Kempeitai you can soon be released later and when you commit a crime again you will soon be interrogated and tortured untill you answer the questions.Tortues were carried out to the limit of human endurance or to the point of death.Many brutal ways of interrogation were executed like corporal beating,water torture,electric torture and burning.These interrogations had physical and mental damage that could last for a long period of time.Thus,Kempeitai,Japanese police controlled its colony well through atrocities.
Not only that but also they changed the educational style into Japanese style education.In that time Western influence impact was huge so Japanese made a lot of changes in school systems in an effort of changing it into Japanese style.Example includes starting with a morning assembly.Those have to stand facing the direction of Japanese flag and sing a Japanese national anthem.Even teachers were forced to learn Japanese to teach students Japanese.They were under the Japanese pressure of learning Japanese.Without this effort it would have been difficult for Japanese to get rid of Western influence.Japanese also used another way to remove Western influence.They started taking over radio broadcastin.Then later the language had changed to Japanese which forced civilians to listen and learn Japanese to understand the radio broadcasting.Broadcasting groups with foreign languages spoken,they were punished and decapitated.Due to the Japanese control the Western influence was removed by Japanese force.
However due to the great money spent to the weapons by Japanese the another problem raised.The food shortage occurred in Singapore.Since all the resources that could be used to trade were gone to support Japan’s war efforts in other parts of Asia.Then later the food rationing was introduced to control the sales of essential items like rice,salt and sugar.Once a month,people would line up at the Kumiai shop for hours to purchase whatever rations that were possible to get.At that time many people were suffering from malnutrition and serious diseases.Sure enough the price of essential food was increased rapidly since there wasn’t a lot of them left including rice and salt.Japanese supplied a lot of banana notes to provide them a ration card cheaply.What the supply of banana notes from Japanese led to is increase in the price of essential food needed.Since not all of them could afford nutitious food most of them died and starved.Then the grow more food was started and the people were encouraged to grow their own food.Seeds were given away by Japanese in order to promote GYO which stands for grow your own food.People were hungry of finding empty space to grow crops.No vacant space was found.These adjustments in the city scene drove a Japanese wartime official, Shinozaki Mamoru, to remark that Syonan had changed into a vegetable patio nursery.
Overall,since Japanese has committed many atrocities that changed Singapore’s culture into Japanese style.In some aspects it can be seen that Japanese has put a lot of effort trying to control Singapore by themselves.
By:Yechan lee
The Kempeitai was the military police force administered by the Japanese War Ministry during WWII over the Occupied Territories of Japan.The Kempeitai was notorious in Singapore and other occupied territories for atrocities.It was specially trained group to restrain all the uprising against Japanese rules and to interrogate the civilians lived in Singapore to gather some important information.No wonder that Japanese laws in Singapore under Japanese control were strict because in order to control its conlony well strict laws should be needed to control people. The Kempeitai was founded on 4 January 1881 by the order of the Meiji Council of State.It was found to educate army officers and farmers who strongly controverted against the conscription law.Their powers started to extend rapidly with General Hideki Tojo becoming the Vice-Minister of War.From 1895 to 1945.Kempeitai developed a vast system of impact and got to be ubiquitous in the Great East Asia Co-Existence Sphere, that is the Occupied Territorie of Japan.They built many facilities to control its colony well.Ministry of water was Lieutenant Colonel Msayuki Oishi with his central station at the YMCA in Stamford Road, which additionally served as the East District Branch.The Kempeitai jail was located in Stamford Road,Chinatown,the Central Police Station.Then their massacre started with huge number of Chinese killed by Kempeitai in order to pressure people.The reason why the target of massacre was Kempeitai met with strong Chinese resistance including those from outside China.Soon they dispreaded their interrogations.According to the National Archive of Singapore once you are arrested by Kempeitai you can soon be released later and when you commit a crime again you will soon be interrogated and tortured untill you answer the questions.Tortues were carried out to the limit of human endurance or to the point of death.Many brutal ways of interrogation were executed like corporal beating,water torture,electric torture and burning.These interrogations had physical and mental damage that could last for a long period of time.Thus,Kempeitai,Japanese police controlled its colony well through atrocities.
Not only that but also they changed the educational style into Japanese style education.In that time Western influence impact was huge so Japanese made a lot of changes in school systems in an effort of changing it into Japanese style.Example includes starting with a morning assembly.Those have to stand facing the direction of Japanese flag and sing a Japanese national anthem.Even teachers were forced to learn Japanese to teach students Japanese.They were under the Japanese pressure of learning Japanese.Without this effort it would have been difficult for Japanese to get rid of Western influence.Japanese also used another way to remove Western influence.They started taking over radio broadcastin.Then later the language had changed to Japanese which forced civilians to listen and learn Japanese to understand the radio broadcasting.Broadcasting groups with foreign languages spoken,they were punished and decapitated.Due to the Japanese control the Western influence was removed by Japanese force.
However due to the great money spent to the weapons by Japanese the another problem raised.The food shortage occurred in Singapore.Since all the resources that could be used to trade were gone to support Japan’s war efforts in other parts of Asia.Then later the food rationing was introduced to control the sales of essential items like rice,salt and sugar.Once a month,people would line up at the Kumiai shop for hours to purchase whatever rations that were possible to get.At that time many people were suffering from malnutrition and serious diseases.Sure enough the price of essential food was increased rapidly since there wasn’t a lot of them left including rice and salt.Japanese supplied a lot of banana notes to provide them a ration card cheaply.What the supply of banana notes from Japanese led to is increase in the price of essential food needed.Since not all of them could afford nutitious food most of them died and starved.Then the grow more food was started and the people were encouraged to grow their own food.Seeds were given away by Japanese in order to promote GYO which stands for grow your own food.People were hungry of finding empty space to grow crops.No vacant space was found.These adjustments in the city scene drove a Japanese wartime official, Shinozaki Mamoru, to remark that Syonan had changed into a vegetable patio nursery.
Overall,since Japanese has committed many atrocities that changed Singapore’s culture into Japanese style.In some aspects it can be seen that Japanese has put a lot of effort trying to control Singapore by themselves.