Daily Life under the Japanese Occupation

Historical Investigation

Question 1
Why did the Japanese win the war against the British? [6marks]

Answer to Question 1
The Japanese were resourceful and well-prepared for war. The Japanese Soldiers, who were willing to die for their emperor, were well trained in jungle warfare that enabled them to move swiftly down Malaya. The well-preparedness and the resourcefulness of the Japanese secured their victory.

Answer to Question 1
The Japanese had already set up intelligence services in Malaya and Singapore to gather information on British defence and readiness. The modern airforce and naval fleet that they possessed also helped them to gain victory against the British. The modern Japanese Zero Fighter Planes destroyed half of the outdated 130+ Brewster Buffaloes.

Answer to Q1
The British were too complacent and over-confident. They believed that Singapore was well-defended. They had underestimated the Japanese and made fatal assumptions about their strategies.

Answer to Q1
The British placed priority on the war in Europe. Because of their involvement in the war in Europe and North Africa, they could not afford to send more battleships and fighter planes to Singapore. The over-confident attitude of the British led to the lost to the Japanese

Question 2
Name four ways that the Japanese used to punish the Prisoners of War.

Answer to Q2
Forced to march 22km from the Padang to Selarang Barracks. Imprisoned at prison camps such as Changi Prison. Some were sent on a death march to build the ThaiBurma railway (The railway of death)/used them as forced labour They were tortured (pulling off their nails/water treatment) They executed/shot those suspected of being antiJapanese

Question 3
What did Japans attack on Pearl Harbour signifies?

Answer to Question 3
What did Japans attack on Pearl Harbour signifies? Japans attack on Pearl Harbour paved the way for its invasion of SEA (South East Asia).

Question 4
When did Singapore surrender?

Answer to Question 4
When did Singapore surrender? 15th Feb 1942

THE WATER TREATMENT

..our captors beat us up, subject us to electric shocks and pumped us up with water as part of the interrogation routine. The feeling of having ones belly pumped full of water and then seeing the water gushing out of the body was hardly bearable.

War Heroes War Heroes

Lim Bo Seng wealthy businessman , born in 1909 Lim came to Singapore in 1917 to study in the Raffles Institution of Singapore, at the age of 16. further his studies in the University of Hong Kong In 1930, Lim married Gan Choo Neo, a Nyonya woman

Death by torture
Lim was tortured for refusing to reveal the names of MPAJA leaders Though, he never uttered a single word about pain and refused to give up information about Force 136. Lim eventually died in the early hours of June 29, 1944.

Lim Bo Seng Memorial in Singapore

War Heroes War Heroes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7maEllHIEpA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH5NkNnMkt0

War Heroes
Adnan Saidi was a Malayan soldier. He fought the Japanese in World War 2. He is regarded a hero by the Singaporeans and the Malaysians. He led a strong Malay soldiers from the Malay Regiments to fight the Japanese. They had fought on Pasir Panjang Ridge on Bukit Chandu.

Virtues
What values do the war heroes have?

Post-War Conditions in Singapore

Turn to page 120

By clearing the harbours. -> This allowed ships transporting foodstuffs to enter the ports. -> They also had to remove the shipwrecks and mines that had been laid in the sea by the Japanese. -> Docks were also repaired. -> By clearing up the harbours, ships that carried food supplies from other countries could easily reach Singapore. ->The food supplies can then be stored at the warehouses and sold to the local people.

Rationing: -> The BMA rationed the amount of food given to each person to try and solve the problem of food shortage. -> People could only buy enough food for themselves and their family members (Prevented others from buying too much food) ->They were not allowed to buy too much food to store for themselves. (No hoarding) -> Through the rationing, the British were able to effectively allocate food to the people who had enough for survival.

Constructing flats: -> British constructed some flats to alleviate the problem of housing shortage. -> During the Jap Opp, there were not enough houses as they were destroyed during the war. -> There was also no reconstruction of houses. -> With the building of more flats, the British hoped to provided people with affordable and comfortable living conditions which would help solve the problem of housing shortage.

Passing a law on rent control -> The British tried to solve the problem of overcrowding by passing a law on rent control. -> Rent was very high and people could not afford the high rents. -> They had to live in small, overcrowded cubicles and squatters. -> By passing the law, it stopped landlords from raising the house rent and forcing tenants to move out.

An example of a slum

Quiz Time- Question 1

What did the Japanese do to promote the Japanese spirit? List four methods

Answer to Question 1
Morning assembly at schools, government buildings companies. Mass drills Teachers and students had to learn Japanese

Controlled radio stations.

Only Japanese propaganda films/movies were shown in Cinemas.

Quiz- Question 2
How did the BMA try to solve the problem of food shortage at the end of World War II? [6 marks]

Answer to Question 2
By clearing the harbours. This allowed ships transporting foodstuffs to enter the ports. They also had to remove the shipwrecks and mines that had been laid in the sea by the Japanese. Docks were also repaired. Hence, by clearing up the harbours, ships that carried food supplies from other countries could easily reach Singapore. The food supplies can then be stored at the warehouses and sold to the local people.

Answer to Question 2
The BMA also decided to ration the amount of food given to each person to try and solve the problem of food shortage. People could only buy enough food for themselves and their family members. They were not allowed to buy too much food to store for themselves. Hence through the rationing, the British were able to effectively allocate food to the people. This prevented people from buying too much food. This ensured that there were no hoarding and that the people had enough food for survival.

Maria Hertogh Riots

Maria Hertogh Riots

Video