Japanese Occupation Changes Lifestyle Of Singaporeans

Singapore, renamed Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō, "Light of the South Island" in Japanese), was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese army imposed harsh measures against the local population, with troops, especially the Kempeitai or Japanese military police, particularly ruthless in dealing with the Chinese population.

One of the first things that the Japanese did was to imprison all the Europeans found in Singapore. They became prisoners-of-war (P.O.W.s). The P.O.W.s were kept in various prison camps such as Changi Prison, Selarang Barracks, Sime Road Camp and other camps.
Life was hard for the P.O.W.s. Some were sent to Thailand where they were made to construct a railroad. It was difficult working on the railroad as the men were given simple tools to fell huge trees and cut through rocks. They were made to work long hours and were not given enough food to eat. The Japanese engineers had estimated that it would take five years to build the railroad. But, the P.O.W.s were forced to work so hard that it was completed in 16 months. The whole project cost the lives of thousands of people who worked on it and the railway became known as the Death Railway.
Those who remained in Singapore in the prison camps also suffered a great deal. They were made to clean up the city, bury the dead bodies, and restore water and electricity supplies. There was a great shortage of food. The P.O.W.s had to plant their own vegetables as they often did not have enough to eat. At the Sime Road Camp, some of the men discovered that if they added talcum powder to their rice porridge, they would have a fuller meal! Due to the poor health conditions in the prisons, many P.O.W.s fell ill and died.







The Japanese had told the people of Singapore that they had come to set them free from British rule. However, the people of all races found that they were not freed. Instead, they had new masters. In fact, they lived in fear of their new Japanese rulers.
Barbed wire was put across the roads to form roadblocks. Japanese guards then bullied the people passing by, sometimes making them kneel on the roadside for hours. Once, a cyclist who tried to ride away when the Japanese guard was not looking was caught. He was made to kneel down and was then hit on the head until he fainted. The Japanese soldiers wanted everyone to obey them and to show them respect. Whenever anyone passed a Japanese soldier on guard duty, he had to bow to him. If he did not do so, he would be slapped, kicked or punished in some other way.

It was the Chinese who suffered the most. They had actively helped China in its fight against Japan. To punish them, the Japanese told all Chinese men between 18 and 50 years of age (sometimes women and children too) to report at certain centres. There, they were "examined" by the Japanese. There was no proper way for deciding who was anti-Japanese. At some centres, men wearing hoods or masks would simply point out certain people as enemies of the Japanese.
Those who were identified as anti-Japanese were not allowed to go home. Some were given a small piece of paper stamped with the word "Examined". The word could be stamped onto their shirts or arms and became an important pass which allowed them to avoid further questioning by the Japanese.
However, there were thousands who were identified as being anti-Japanese. These were taken in lorries to Changi Beach and other beaches on the east coast.
The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya were also forced to form the Overseas Chinese Association and were made to contribute $50 million towards Japan's war efforts. The Chinese leaders found it hard to raise the money. Though they were prepared to sell their houses, no one could afford to buy them. The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya could collect only $28 million altogether and had to borrow the rest from a Japanese bank.