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Abstract

The Japanese invaded Vietnam and Indonesia in late 1940 and early 1942, respectively. During the occupation, the Japanese deployed different strategies and policies to govern and exploit the occupied territories. Dutch officials in Indonesia were replaced by Japanese administrators, whereas the French administration in Vietnam was largely retained until the coup d’état of March 1945. Natural resources and economic facilities of both countries were exploited for the Japanese war efforts. The economic exploitation by the Japanese worsened economic conditions, causing terrible famines in Indonesia and Vietnam at the time of independence. However, the Japanese invasion and occupation also led to the dismantlement of the structure of colonial economies in the two countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the relationship between the Japanese occupation and the economic decolonization in Vietnam and Indonesia during World War II. Special attention is given to the Japanese economic policies and their impacts on the destruction of colonial economies in the two countries. While underlining the negative economic consequences of the Japanese occupation, the study also explains how important the Japanese occupation period was in terms of accelerating the economic decolonization in Indonesia and Vietnam.

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