Just when the British arrived, the finally took control of Singapore again, but I think it was a mistake. The British tried to make a headquarter for the British Governor general for the whole Southeast Asia, but most of the infrastructure had been destroyed, even the electricity and water supply systems, telephone services, as well as the harbour facilities at the Port of Singapore. It was ironic, even though the Singaporeans think that they will not suffer any more from the Japanese, since the British arrived, they were still suffering even after the world war 2. Example, prices of food items, jumped up ten times the price before the war. For that, many people were hungry and angry, they were so desperate that they searched the rubbish bin hoping to find at least a piece of food.
Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Military_Administration_(Malaya)
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore. The occupation was to become a major turning point in the history of several nations, including that of Japan, Britain and the then-colonial state of Singapore. Singapore was renamed to Syonanto (昭南島 Shōnantō), which means "Southern Island gained in the age of Shōwa". The name is frequently mistranslated as "Light of the South", even in Singaporean textbooks.
Singapore was officially returned to British colonial rule on 12 September 1945, following the formal signing of the surrender instrument at the Municipal Building.
Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapore
On Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki.
In a section of the article titled “A Propaganda Front,” the Times article reports on Japan’s efforts, after the Aug. 6 bombing of Hiroshima, to influence public opinion in Europe and North America in the hope that it would stop the United States from dropping a second bomb.
Estimates suggest that the bomb killed 40,000 on the day it was dropped, and approximately 70,000 by the end of 1945.
When Japan refused to accept the terms on July 29, Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb. On Aug. 6, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, destroying over 60 percent of the developed city and killing between 70,000 and 80,000.After the bombing, Japan accepted the Potsdam terms and unconditionally surrendered to the United States on Aug. 14, a day known as Victory in Japan, or V-J, Day. It marked the end of World War II.
After I have heard about the surrender of Japanese, I quickly ran down to the Padang.I were very excited that Japan had already signed which says they have agree to surrender.At the Padang, I cheered happily for the return of the British.It was totally a FREEDOM after Japan had signed the surrender documents.
Citation :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_Japan
During the early days of the Japanese occupation, an extensive clean-up operation to purge anti-Japanese elements -- including former members of Dalforce,Force 136, and supporters of the China Relief Funds -- known as Sook Ching was undertaken. The massacres were executed under the supervision of the Kempeitai with the Hojo Kempei ("auxiliary military police") being employed to carry out the actual shooting under orders of a Kempeitai officer. Although the exact figures will never be fully known, it was estimated that a total figure between 25,000 and 50,000 victims were massacred according to the post-war trial testimonies in 1947.
Masanobu Tsuji identified by Japanese army commanders as the man responsible for the Sook Ching massacre during the Singapore Chinese Massacre Trial in 1947 .Tsuji was appointed as the Chief Planning and Operations Officer of the 25th Army, which was led by Tomoyuki Yamashita during the Malayan Campaign. He had close links with the Imperial Headquarters in Tokyo and enjoyed certain privileges that officers of more senior ranks were not allowed.
Overstepping his authority, he had issued orders during the massacre of thousands of Chinese civilians in Singapore and Malaya with Yamashita's knowledge but without his approval. He was also responsible for the slaughter of thousands of American and Filipino prisoners-of-war in the Philippines. Tsuji was in Myanmar at the time of Japan's unconditional surrender to British forces in August 1946 and made his getaway to Thailand disguised as a wandering Buddhist monk. He later spent a short spell in China during its the Chinese Civil War. He was pursued by the British but they were unable to get him, as he was sheltered by the United States for political reasons when he resurfaced in Japan in 1947. He was cleared of any war crimes in 1950 and later became one of Japan's most prominent post-war parliamentarians. In 1961, Tsuji disappeared mysteriously in Indochina and was officially declared dead in 1968.
Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempeitai_East_District_Branch
The Bombing of Singapore was a military campaign conducted by the Allied air forces during World War II. United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) long-range bomber units conducted 11 air raids on Japanese-occupied Singapore between November 1944 and March 1945. Most of these raids targeted the naval base and dockyard facilities on the island, though several minelaying missions were conducted in nearby waters. After the American bombers were redeployed, the British Royal Air Force assumed responsibility for minelaying operations near Singapore and these continued until 24 May 1945.
The raids had mixed results. While significant damage was inflicted on Singapore's important naval base and commercial port, some raids on these targets were not successful and other attacks on oil storage facilities on islands near Singapore were ineffective. The minelaying campaign disrupted Japanese shipping in the Singapore area and resulted in the loss of three vessels and damage to a further ten, but was not decisive. The Allied air attacks were, however, successful in raising the morale of Singapore's civilian population, who believed that the raids marked the impending liberation of the city. The overall number of civilian casualties from the bombings was low, though one attack rendered hundreds of people homeless and civilian workers were killed during attacks on military facilities.
The people of Singaporeans were badly hurt and badly treated. Most of them lost their houses and family.I feel pity for them as i still have my whole family living with me until today.
Citation : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Singapore_(1944%E2%80%931945)
Reign of Terror
The Kempeitai (Japanese military secret police) committed numerous atrocities against the common people. They introduced the system of "Sook Ching", which means "purge through purification", to get rid of those deemed as anti-Japanese. The Sook Ching Massacre claimed the lives of between 25,000 and 50,000 ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Malaya. These men were rounded up and taken to deserted spots around the island and killed systematically. Besides, the Kempeitai established a network of informers around the island to help them identify those who were anti-Japanese. These informers were well-paid by the Kempeitai and had no fear of being arrested. Japanese soldiers patrolled the streets and commoners had to bow to them when they passed by. Those who failed to do so would be beaten and some people would be taken away.
Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapore
The city was renamed Syonan-to, literally Light-of-the-South Island. The Japanese sought vengeance against the Chinese and to eliminate anyone who held anti-Japanese sentiment. The Imperial authorities were suspicious of the Chinese because of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and killed many in the Sook Ching Massacre. The other ethnic groups of Singapore such as the Malays and the Indians were not spared. The residents suffered great hardships under Japanese rule over the three and a half years.
Victorious Japanese troops marching through Fullerton Square.Many of the British and Australian soldiers taken prisoner remained in Singapore's Changi Prison. Many would never return home. Thousands of others were shipped on prisoner transports known as "hellships" to other parts of Asia, including Japan, to be used as forced labour on projects such as the Siam–Burma Death Railway and Sandakan airfield in North Borneo. Many of those aboard the ships perished.
The Japanese were highly successful in recruiting Indian soldiers taken prisoner. From a total of about 40,000 Indian personnel in Singapore in February 1942, about 30,000 joined the pro-Japanese "Indian National Army", which fought Allied forces in the Burma Campaign. Others became POW camp guards at Changi. However, many Indian Army personnel resisted recruitment and remained POWs. An unknown number were taken to Japanese-occupied areas in the South Pacific as forced labour. Many of them suffered severe hardships and brutality similar to that experienced by other prisoners of Japan during World War II. About 6,000 of them survived until they were liberated by Australian and U.S. forces, in 1943–45.
After the Japanese surrender in 1945 Yamashita was tried by a US military commission for war crimes committed by Japanese personnel in the Philippines earlier that year, but not for crimes committed by his troops in Malaya or Singapore. He was convicted and hanged in the Philippines on 23 February 1946.
Just when the British arrived, the finally took control of Singapore again, but I think it was a mistake. The British tried to make a headquarter for the British Governor general for the whole Southeast Asia, but most of the infrastructure had been destroyed, even the electricity and water supply systems, telephone services, as well as the harbour facilities at the Port of Singapore. It was ironic, even though the Singaporeans think that they will not suffer any more from the Japanese, since the British arrived, they were still suffering even after the world war 2. Example, prices of food items, jumped up ten times the price before the war. For that, many people were hungry and angry, they were so desperate that they searched the rubbish bin hoping to find at least a piece of food.
