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Japanese Occupation Affect Nationalism in Indonesia

Decent Essays

4. Assess the impact of the Japanese Occupation on nationalism in Indonesia “Nationalism” is generally defined as the increasing desire in people to determine their identity, existence and destiny for themselves. For the Netherland Indies, nationalism movement can be traced back to around 1900, which finally led and gave rise to a new nation, Indonesia. Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge that nationalism movement existed prior to the Japanese occupation and therefore should not be consider a turning point that altered the entire landscape of nationalist movement in Indonesia. In addition, the Japanese’s brutality and cruelty could have potentially hindered the progress of nationalism, as they were primary driven by their …show more content…

His eloquence at political rallies was instrumental in spreading the message of freedom across a diverse Indonesia, galvanizing them to set aside their differences to united and oppose against their colonial masters. This can be reinforced by the account of Hideo Fujiyama, who decided to desert the Japanese Army and remain in Indonesia to fight along side the nationalist army. He was primary motivated by Sukarno as he recalled the reason that inspired him to make the decision was listening to Sukarno’s speech at a mass rally on September 19th, 1945 in Jakarta. He described Sukarno’s speech to be “so energetic and impressive” which resulted to him “being moved” and led him to join Indonesia nationalist movement military. Therefore, the Japanese Occupation gave Sukarno the platform to reach out to the masses as his eloquence and inflammatory speeches managed to convince them to participate in his nationalist movements. The Japanese administration gave nationalist’s opportunities to become involved in government in ways that they had never known before under the Dutch rule. These opportunities include the access to experience and connections, which were later proved to be highly effective. In particular, nationalist usually came to control many propaganda activities mounted by Japan, including publication and circulation of newspapers such as Sumatra Sinbu (Sumatra News), radio broadcasts, mass instructions, films and

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