In this source, it tells us that the Japanese do report information about the war in newspapers, but often do not give the full story. They only report on their victories, giving locals the impression that they were advancing very quicking and were winning the war. They kept their failures silent, things such as the bombing of their warships by the Americans were not told to the people. Newspapers were one of the very few legal sources where people could have access to information of the war, but even then, the Japanese often gave them misleading information, causing them to believe that Japan was far more superior than other countries and could easily win the war.
VIEW MOREIn this source, Tan Teck Chye, who was a teenager at the time of the Japanese Occupation, tells us about the Japanese Propaganda used to change the local people's perception of the Japanese. He encountered many sources, an example being books, talking about the Japanese Emperor's greatness and how being under their ruler's command made them were better than the British and Americans. The people did not have access to much information, only the ones the Japanese provided them with, so it was up to them to deciper which ones were true and which were not.
VIEW MOREIn this source, Rudy, who was a teenager at the time of the Japanese Occupation, wrote about his experinces in school. A Japanese school was very different from an English school, which most students attended before the occupation. During the occupation, students who continued schooling were forced to attend Japanese schools, where every subject was taught in japanese, Rudy was no exception. Other than that, they also had to sing the Japanese National Anthem and had to bow to the direction where Japan was. Furthermore, the school environment was not well maintained as nobody bothered to clean the school. Teachers and textbooks were limited, so students were sometimes taught through the broadcast system. CCAs were also affected due to the limited facilities.
VIEW MOREIn this source, the author's mother, who was attending an English primary school at the start of the Japanese Occupation, had to stop school when the occupation started. During that period of time, she attended a Japanese school and had to learn Japanese, but could not remember what she had learnt, stating that it was because she did not want to remember anything associated with the Japanese. After the occupation, she struggled to get enrolled in an English school again due to her being over-aged.
VIEW MOREIn this source, Lauw Kim Guan, who was a teenager during the Japanese Occupation, talks about his relationships with others of the same village. During the time of the Occupation, there was always a fear of betrayal among the people. At one point, there was a betrayal in his village, in which someone actually stated the name of an innocent person to the Japanese in order to be released from prison. This aroused suspicion among the people and they begun to suspect and distrust their friends and neighbours, thus greatly affecting the realtionships among them.
VIEW MOREIn this source, Joseph, who was a teenager during the Japanese Occupation, talked about how he helped his mother fend for his family during that period. Food given by the Japanese was not enough to feed the entire family, so he worked as a radio broadcaster to earn extra income. His family worked very hard to survive and overcame many obstacles together during the occupation, causing them to grow closer.
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