The Second World War Japanese Occupation of Singapore

Japan's Second World War occupation of Singapore was marked by acute shortages of food and basic consumer goods, malnutrition, rampant black markets and social breakdown. We argue that the exploitation of Singapore was extreme and fully accorded with pre-war Japanese policy. Japan used Singapore mainly as a communications centre and port to ship Indonesian oil. Mid-1943 attempts to add manufacturing to the city's role had limited success. Acquiescence of Singaporeans to Japanese rule was a notable aspect of occupation. While part of the explanation is that the occupation was a reign of terror, the economics of shortage conferred on the Japanese considerable leverage in maintaining social control.