Japanese military forces invaded Malaya on 8 December 1941 and British forces surrendered in Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese military administration ruled the territory for three and a half years, and the Japanese occupation had an impact on the local society in many ways.

This book describes the Japanese military administration and the social and economic history in Malaya and Singapore from 1942 to 1945.

The author, Paul H. Kratoska, writes that, “Popular understanding is in any case full of misconceptions” (p. 1). Japanese occupation in Malaya and Singapore was often understood in the following terms: “The war caused Britain to abandon its colonial empire; Japan conquered Malaya to obtain the peninsula's rich natural resources; the Japanese ruled autocratically and used terror to control the population” (p. 1), and so on.

Yet, “These interpretations are commonplace, but are partial truths at best and include much that is inaccurate” (p. 1). And Kratoska remarks that “The events in Malaya had little to do” with “Britain's decision to give up its empire” (p. 1). And, “the colonial rule ended in Malaya through a constitutional process twelve years after the Japanese surrender” (p. 1).

Whereas the Japanese occupation is recognized as a watershed in the history of British Malaya and Malaysia, Kratoska explains the British administration and policies toward Malaya by clarifying the situation in Malaya before the war (Chapter 1) and in its aftermath (Chapter 11). He also points out that the Japanese military administration used both the British colonial administration system and the administration staff (Chapters 2 and 3).

Kratoska suggests that ethnic policy and local communities could not be explained through simple pictures like “the Chinese were hostile to the Japanese, the Malays collaborated, and the Indians were won over by the promise of support for Indian independence” (p. 1). He writes that “most Chinese cooperated with the Japanese, even if reluctantly; Malays tended to be neutral and came to dislike Japanese rule, while many Indians saw Japanese support or the independence movement in India as detrimental to their cause” (pp. 1–2).

Chapter 4 describes ethnic politics in Malaya and Singapore under the Japanese occupation. “The Japanese were extremely wary of the Chinese but recognized their abilities and their significance for Malaya's economic recovery” (p. 95). Yet, in Singapore, “sook ching 粛清” (“purge through cleansing”, p. 98) was conducted from 21 February to 4 March 1942, and this was just after the Japanese invaded Singapore. And there were cases of Chinese massacres in Malaya as well. The Chinese community was forced by the Japanese military administration to collect $50 million through a “Voluntary Contribution Campaign” (p. 105).

The Malays who “tended to be neutral and came to dislike Japanese rule” as Kratoska writes (p. 2) might be ordinary Malay people in society. In Chapter 4, Kratoska categorizes Malay leaders into four groups and focuses on Malay leaders from pre-war nationalist organizations such as Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), who later formed the Malay Volunteer Army. He could have included in this chapter Nanpō Ryūgakusei 南方留学生, Malay elites who were sent to Japan to study as future Malay leaders.

Chapters 6–9 deal with the economy, currency and banking, the estate and mining industries, and rationing and food production. The Malayan economy was based on the export of rubber and tin and depended on the import of rice from Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. As the economy faced serious difficulties under the occupation, the production of rubber and tin declined and almost no food was imported. People faced unemployment, shortages of consumer goods, commodity price hikes, a thriving black market and widespread corruption. People suffered from hunger and disease.

The last chapter, the Conclusion, is a highlight of this book; it offers a discussion of the Japanese occupation and local people's history. Kratoska describes the oral history materials held by the Oral History Department, Singapore as the records of memories of the people and examines the academic discussion and textbooks in Malaysia and Singapore.

Kratoska uses western public records, administrative papers, oral materials, intelligence reports and postwar accounts by Japanese officers. The book contains many illustrations including pictures from the National Archives, the Syonan Times, and other similar sources. This book was first published in 1998 and has now been re-issued in a new edition that incorporates information from newly translated Japanese documents and other academic research.

The book examines primary documents in detail and illustrates the military administration and the local community in Malaya and Singapore beyond the stereotypical images. The research on the British official records (CO, WO, BMA, etc.) and the OSS records of the USA show the western perspectives and the capabilities of the intelligence services of the Allied Powers. The analysis of official records and the primary documents presents the Japanese military administration and the local economy. The analysis of the Syonan Times published in Syonan/Singapore illustrates the lives of local people and the military propaganda under the occupation.

Akashi Yoji used western official records for the first time in the 1960s/70s when studies on the Japanese occupation in Malaya and Singapore were examined mainly through Japanese military records in Japan. Western official records indicated the great potential for collecting more information, in analyzing and keeping records made during WWII.

As Kratoska writes, “The academic literature on the occupation is sparse, reflecting a lack of source materials on the period” (p. 5). The British destroyed files at the time of the invasion. The Japanese systematically destroyed documents immediately after the surrender, and the materials handed over to the War Damage Commission were destroyed when its investigation was finished (pp. 5–7). Yet historians nevertheless have always endeavoured to work on the topic.

Kratoska and his colleagues assigned students at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang to take records of older people's oral accounts of experiences and memories of WWII. The Singapore government conducted projects of oral history records in the 1980s. As the people who experienced the war and the occupation become older, the documentation and records of oral history have become more important in Southeast Asia as well as in Japan.

Kratoska worked on the Japanese occupation in Southeast Asia for many years and conducted various English publication projects with other history specialists including Japanese historians. Both Kratoska ed. (1998) on food supplies and Kratoska ed. (2005) on labor are excellent academic publications on the Japanese occupation in Southeast Asia.

To Japanese, images of the Japanese occupation in Malaya and Singapore are the Malayan campaign, the Ginrin-butai 銀輪部隊 or Silver Bicycle Troop, Nampō Ryūgakusei 南方留学生 (or Malay elites sent to Japan to study), the Chinese Massacre (including the daikenshō 大検証 or sook ching 粛清), Kempei-tai 憲兵隊 (or Military Police), hunger, Gumpyo (or Military Currency) and War Reparation. The similarities and differences between the western materials, local memories and the Japanese materials might be interesting to examine. Moreover, gender perspectives should be discussed, such as the differences in people's memories by gender and the “comfort women” (or Japanese military sex-slavery system) issues with regards to the cases of Malaya and Singapore.

In Japan, of course, there is much excellent research on the Japanese occupation by Southeast Asian studies specialists as well as by Japan history specialists, and I regret that this book does not include Japanese sources. Whereas English is not the only international language in academic circles, I accept that it is important for Japanese researchers to publish their academic articles and publications in English. For those who are interested in Japanese research, please see the Bibliography on the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, Singapore and Northern Borneo, 1941–1945 (マラヤ日本占領期史料フォーラム編『マラヤ日本占領期文献目録1941–45年』） (Ryukei-shosha Publication, 2007). The Ryukei-shosha publication reprinted rare primary Japanese documents (with comments and explanations by specialists) on the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia (including local Japanese newspapers, Chosabu reports, and so on). As an example of a comprehensive English academic publication on the topic by Japanese scholars, there is Akashi Yoji and Yoshimura Mako eds., New Perspectives on Japanese Occupation in Malaya and Singapore 1942–45 (Singapore: NUS Press, 2008).

Additionally, it is not correct that “there was no standard way” of Romanization of Japanese orthography (p. 8). There are two major Romanization systems for Japanese. “Sho” in the Hepburn Style (ヘボン式) and “Syo” in the Kunrei Style (訓令式). 新聞 (newspaper) is Shimbun as “n” becomes “m” after b, m or p in the Hepburn Style. Singapore was named “Syonan” in the Kunrei Style. So “Shinbun” followed in the same Kunrei Style while the pronunciation is closer to “Shimbun” in the Hepburn Style. Also with the Japanese calendar years (p. 9), “The Shonan Times” in February 1942 printed the calendar year “Showa 17” in the Hepburn Style, while “The Syonan Times” in March 1942 printed the calendar year “Syowa 17” in the Kunrei Style. The Hepburn system became the standard Romanization system according to GHQ guidance after WWII.

Some of the titles mentioned in the book are missing in the Bibliography, e.g. N. Tarling (2001) and Patricia Lim Huen and Diana Wong eds. (2000).

History is always associated with old records and memories of the past. The primary materials and historical documents need to be discovered, maintained, analyzed and discussed. History should not be oversimplified for easier comprehension by using only the records of rulers and administrators, and should be illustrated through many people's lives within the society. Challenges remain as to how to record memories and real people's voices on the war and the occupation. Kratoska's book shows the importance of history studies and analysis of historical documents and will lead to further discussion for history students.