Abstract
This series examines broadcasting by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy in the “southern occupied territories” during the Pacific War. Part II delves into the reality of broadcasts in current Indonesia, then called the Dutch East Indies.
The Dutch East Indies was a strategically important resource region rich with crude oil and other natural resources. Once the Japanese armed forces seized the region, they launched nearly 20 radio stations, and most of them continued broadcasting until the end of war. The development of radio broadcasting differed in different islands inducing Java and Sumatra, and the Army and the Navy were in charge of different areas for operating broadcasting. This article looks into the real situations of broadcasting by focusing on the differences in the structure of implementing broadcasting, the content of radio broadcasts, and listening status.
Among the Army's areas of responsibility, Java saw the launch of broadcasting right after the start of occupation because the island's broadcasting had already been developed prior to the war. Meanwhile, it took more time to open radio stations in Sumatra, and only a few stations were launched there. Navy's areas of responsibility included Celebes (now Sulawesi) and Borneo that had no radio stations before the occupation, and the Navy had to establish broadcast stations from scratch. As seen above, the structures of implementing broadcasting were remarkably different depending on the area.
Listening statuses, however, were almost the same: the Japanese armed forces had requisitioned a massive number of radio receivers in the region for the purpose of counterintelligence, and afterwards radio did not spread well in any of those areas. Local residents listened to radio broadcasts mainly through radio sets installed in public spaces. Radio programs aired in each area were mainly music performances and replaying of records that would suit for group listening.
While the upper echelons were not able to decide on specific propaganda policies, officials in charge of broadcast stations in each area were forced to grope in the dark to continue broadcasting. Before the Japanese armed forces were able to verify whether the goal of winning local citizens' understanding of Japan's occupation policy had been achieved through broadcasts, the broadcasting in the occupied territories was brought to an end.
