Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies

Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies Japanese East Indies 日本占領下のオランダ領東インド (Japanese) Nihon senryō-ka no orandaryōhigashiindo (Romaji) Pendudukan Jepang di Hindia-Belanda (Indonesian) Japanse bezetting van Nederlands-Indië (Dutch)
1942–1945
Flag of the Empire of Japan and Flag of Indonesia Imperial Seal of Japan
Motto: Hakkō ichiu (八紘一宇)
Anthem: Kimigayo Indonesia Raya (unofficial)
The former Dutch East Indies (dark red) within the Empire of Japan (light red) at its furthest extent
Status	Military occupation by the Empire of Japan
Capital	Djakarta
Common languages	Japanese, Indonesian, Dutch
Emperor
• 1942–1945	Hirohito
Historical era	World War II
• Dutch capitulation	8 March 1942
• Pacific War	1941–1945
• First Battle of the Java Sea	27 February 1942
• Second Battle of the Java Sea	1 March 1942
• Pontianak incidents (Pontianak massacres)	1943–1944
• PETA insurgency	14 February 1945
• Surrender of Japan	15 August 1945
• Independence proclaimed	17 August 1945
Currency	Netherlands Indian roepiah
Preceded by Succeeded by Dutch East Indies Portuguese Timor Indonesia Dutch East Indies Portuguese Timor
Today part of	Indonesia East Timor

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Outline of the Japanese entry in Batavia, as depicted by the Japanese
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The Japanese Empire occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945.

In May 1940, Germany occupied the Netherlands, and martial law was declared in the Dutch East Indies. Following the failure of negotiations between the Dutch authorities and the Japanese, Japanese assets in the archipelago were frozen. The Dutch declared war on Japan following the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies began on 10 January 1942, and the Imperial Japanese Army overran the entire colony in less than three months. The Dutch surrendered on 8 March. ^[1] Initially, most Indonesians welcomed the Japanese as liberators from their Dutch colonial masters. The sentiment changed, however, as between 4 and 10 million Indonesians were recruited as forced labourers (romusha) on economic development and defense projects in Java. Between 200,000 and 500,000 were sent away from Java to the outer islands, and as far as Burma and Siam. Of those taken off Java, not more than 70,000 survived the war.^[2] Four million people died in the Dutch East Indies as a result of famine and forced labour during the Japanese occupation, including 30,000 European civilian internee deaths.^[3]

In 1944–1945, Allied troops largely bypassed the Dutch East Indies and did not fight their way into the most populous parts such as Java and Sumatra. As such, most of the Dutch East Indies was still under occupation at the time of Japan's surrender in August 1945.

The invasion and occupation was the first serious challenge to Dutch colonial rule and brought about changes so extensive that the subsequent Indonesian National Revolution became possible.^[4] Unlike the Dutch, the Japanese facilitated the politicisation of Indonesians down to the village level.^{[citation needed]} The Japanese educated, trained and armed many young Indonesians and gave their nationalist leaders a political voice.^{[citation needed]} Thus, through both the destruction of the Dutch colonial regime and the facilitation of Indonesian nationalism, the Japanese occupation created the conditions for the proclamation of Indonesian independence within days of the Japanese surrender in the Pacific.^{[citation needed]} However, the Netherlands sought to reclaim the Indies, and a bitter five-year diplomatic, military and social struggle ensued, resulting in the Netherlands recognising Indonesian sovereignty in December 1949.