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MamanSMahayana-JapaneseOccupationGovernmentPolicyinIndonesia
HUMANIORA
VOLUME25 No.2Juni2013 Halaman129-142
JAPANESEOCCUPATIONGOVERNMENTPOLICY
ININDONESIAONCULTUREANDLITERATURE:
ACASESTUDYOFASIARAJANEWSPAPER(1942-1945)
MamanS.Mahayana*
ABSTRAK
Ada tiga pandangan yang ditampilkan dalam pergerakan Indonesia dalam menanggapi
kedatanganJepangkeIndonesia.Pertama,kelompokyangmenyambutdanmendukungkedatangan
Jepang atas keberhasilannya mengusir Belanda. Kedua, kelompok yang belum menentukan sikap
mendukung atau menentang. Dalam hal ini, mereka masih ingin melihat bagaimana Jepang
akan menjalankan pemerintahannya di Indonesia. Ketiga, kelompok yang menentang kehadiran
Jepang, meski belum berani melakukan perlawanan. Mereka yang menentang kedatangan Jepang
di Indonesia terdiri dari dua kelompok, yaitu (1) dari keluarga ambtenaar, kaum bangsawan, dan
pegawai pemerintah, dan (2) para pejuang pergerakan yang menempatkan pemerintah Jepang
sebagai imperialis baru menggantikan Belanda. Bagaimana sebenarnya politik pemerintah
pendudukan Jepang dalam melaksanakan pemerintahan pendudukannya? Berdasarkan data yang
terdapat dalam suratkabar Asia Raja (29 April 1942 sampai 7 September 1945), penelitian ini
mencoba mengungkap politik pemerintah Jepang di bidang sosial-budaya dan sastra. Bagaimana
pula suratkabar itu dimanfaatkan pemerintah pendudukan Jepang untuk memperoleh dukungan
masyarakat Indonesia dalam menghadapi perang Asia Timur Raya?
Kata Kunci: budaya, kebijakan pemerintah, pendudukan Jepang, politik kolonial, sastra, surat
kabarAsia Raja
ABSTRACT
Three groups of people in the movement of Indonesia were involved in responding to the
arrival of Japan in Indonesia. The first group include those who welcomed and supported the arrival
ofJapanbecauseof itssuccessinexpellingtheDutchfromIndonesia.Thesecondarethosewhohad
notmadeuptheirmindswhethertosupportortoopposetheJapanesepresenceinIndonesia.Thatis,
they wanted to see how the Japanese would run their administration in Indonesia. The third consist
of those who opposed the presence of the Japanese although they did not yet have the courage to
fight them. Those who opposed the Japanese arrival in Indonesia consist of two groups, namely (1)
the aristocrats, ambtenaar, and government employees, and (2) those who fought and regarded the
Japanesearrivalasanactofanimperialistoccupation.Actually,howwasthepoliticsoftheJapanese
government in its colonial administration in Indonesia? On the basis of data obtained from the Asia
Raja newspaper from April 29, 1942 to September 7, 1945, this paper attempts to investigate the
Japanese political government in socio-cultural and literary fields. How did the Japanese make use
of the newspaper to gain Indonesian public support in the face of the Greater EastAsian war?
Keywords: Asia Raja newspapers, colonial politics, culture, government policy, Japanese
occupation, literature
* TheFaculty of Humanity, University of Indonesia; now serves as visiting lecturer in Hankuk University of Foreign
Studies, Seoul, South Korea
129
Humaniora, Vol. 25, No. 2 Juni 2013: 129 - 142
INTRODUCTION Third, some people were against the Japanese
In early March 1942, the Japanese landed arrival, although they had no courage to fight
in Java. Soon after that, the Japanese began their against them. The people who were against the
occupation of Java island (Indonesia) and at the Japanese occupation were (1) the new-noblemen,
same time terminated the long Dutch colonial ambtenaar, and civil servants whose privileges
government in the Archipelago. Unlike the Dutch, were threatened by the Japanese existence in
the Japanese conducted a more sympathetic Indonesia and (2) the Indonesian independence
approach as if bestowing enlightenment of movementwhoconsidered the Japanese occupation
awareness about the need of “liberating” Indonesia as closely similar to that of the Dutch – it was going
and other Asian nations from the West (Dutch) to hamper Indonesian sovereignty and in turn led
imperialism. Based on the “Triple A” program, the Indonesians to agony.
Japanese, more or less, successfully enhanced Because of these various responses, the
the sense of confidence that Asia, particularly Japanese intially responded positive. Through the
Indonesia, actually had the power and capability “Triple A” movement, i.e., Japan as the Leader,
to liberate itself from the domination of the Japan as the Protector and Japan as the Shine of
colonialism. Asia, was then applied in the Japanese various
During its reign, through its education policy, policies. From the beginning, the Japanese was
government policy, and colonial politics, on the actually aware of the necessity of having an
one hand, the Dutch colonial government had institution to translate the Japanese colonial policy
successfully developed its image as the developing as well as conducting public persuasion. Therefore,
nation, having high culture and superiority, and on landing in Java, the Japanese invited the
regarded itself as a messiah. On the other hand, propaganda officers belonging to the Propaganda
it had also successfully implanted the stigma of Group (Sendenhan), consisting of 11 military
the native as the underdeveloped, inferior, and officers, 100 civilians, and 87 military service
uncivilized race. The Japanese policy, on the other officers.
hand, went to the different direction. With the In August 1942, The Japanese colonial
hope that the Indonesians would help them to win government officially established a propaganda
the Pacific war, the Japanese intended to destroy institute called Sendenbu, an organ in the Japanese
all the images presented by the Dutch. Therefore, colonial government assigned to spread the
the Japanese arrival in Java was in the beginning Japanese colonial policy in the Great East Asian
responded to in various ways. At least, three
responses were exposed by the Indonesian people war. This board tried to develop the government
movement. image with the purpose that the nation not only
First, they enthusiastically supported the Japa- received but also supported the government policy
nese arrival due to their success in expelling the in the colony by giving anything – property and
Dutch from Indonesia. Capt. R.P. Suyono (2005, human resources to the Japanese colonial, in facing
p.198—199), writes as follows: “… penduduk the war against the allied nations in the Pacific war.
pribumi menyambut gembira kedatangan tentara What Japan did was merely its strategy to
Jepang dengan mengibarkan bendera Jepang win the table over the allied forces, similar to what
di mana-mana…” (‘the native enthusiastically was conducted by the German Nazi. Prof. Kazuaki
welcome the Japanese soldiers by raising the Kimura (1994) said that Kenzi Takahashi, who
Japanese flags everywhere’). Second, some people wrote “The Germany Propaganda Legion”, was the
had not determined whether they were pros or cons key person who managed the Japanese Propaganda
to the Japanese arrival. They were still curious on Troops to support the Japanese soldiers to win
howthey would run their government in Indonesia. the battle against the Allied Forces. Prof. Kamia,
130
MamanSMahayana-JapaneseOccupationGovernmentPolicyinIndonesia
as cited by Prof. Kazuaki Kimura, stated that the One month after the Japanese Propaganda
functions of intellectuals, during the war, was to Legion was established in Jakarta, they published
support the government strategy. Therefore, the a four-page newspaper called Asia Raja. Involving
“Propaganda Legion” consisted of artists, cultural someIndonesians, this daily was first published on
experts and journalists. Based on the reason of Wednesday, April 29, 1942. The committee was
having state assignment (Nanpo Choyou Sakka), as follows:
one month military training was prepared for them Badan Pengarang: A. Asano, N. Suimizu, Uio
before they joined the Army and Navy to be sent Tomizawa.
to the Philippines, Burma, Malaysia including Anggota Kehormatan: R. Soekardjo Wiryo-
Singapore, and Indonesia. pranoto
How well did the Indonesian culture and PemimpinRedaksi:T.Ichiki
literature develop during the Japanese occupation? BagianPolitikdanUmum:Winarno
Is it true that the Indonesian literature did not Bagian Sosial dan Pemuda: Mr. M. Samsudin
develop well, as A. Teeuw, H.B. Jassin, and Ajip BagianKehormatan:SanusiPane
Rosidi claimed, because of (1) the tightness of the BagianEkonomi:Setijono
Japanese censors under Pusat Kebudayaan (Bunka AlamatKantor:MolenvlietOostNo.8Jakarta
Keimin Syidosyo), (2) an emphasis on literature Tiras: 15.000eksemplar
and culture just to be a propaganda tool by the Harga:10sen/eksemplar
Japanese? Howdidthe Asia Raja newspaper as the This newspaper regularly appeared every
mouthpiece of the Japanese government provide day, except holiday and Sunday. But, if important
newsandinformation with the purpose of carrying events occurred on Saturdays, Asia Raja was also
out the Japanese policy? These are some questions published on Sundays. For instance, when the
that this article attempts to address. first meeting of Cuo Sangi-In was arranged on
This study aims to examine the policies of Saturday, October 16, 1943 (2603 in Japanese
the Japanese government on literature and culture calendar), the following day (Sunday, October 17,
as presented in the Asia Raja newspaper. The 1943) this event became the headline. The same
primary data source of this study is all editions thing happened to the speech of the Prime Minister
of the Asia Raja newspaper, from the first to the Koisho about the preparation for Indonesian
independence. The news was presented in the
last editions published from April 29, 1942 to specific pages called “Soerat Selebaran Soeara
September 7, 1945. Asia” (The Bulletin of Asian Voice). In addition
The method used in this research is descriptive to presenting the speech of the prime minister,
method with quantitative data processing. The several commercial ads were also published in the
research was carried out by directly examining newspaper. Until the end of February 1943, Asia
primary sources Asia Raja (April 29, 1942 to Raja was still regularly published in four pages for
September 7, 1945). To support the description or each edition. However, on Saturday, February 27,
analysis of the primary sources data, other relevant 1943, Jawa Syimbun Kai, a censor institute of the
literature sources were required as references. Japanese colonial government that was responsible
for any activities in the publishing field made the
following decision:
THEASIARAJANEWSPAPER Poetoesan“JawaSjimboenKai”
The Japanese Propaganda Legion sent to Moelai tanggal 1 Maart (: Maret) j.a.d. semoea
Indonesia was coordinated by its leader Lieutenant s.k. di Djawa akan terbit 2 halaman tiaptiap
Colonel Keiji Machida. It had 190 members, hari, tetapi seminggoe sekali diizinkan terbit
including, among others, Aki Asano, novelist 4 halaman. Harga langganan saban boelan
Tomoji Abe, Uio Tomizawa, N. Suimizu, and ditetapkan bagi “Asia Raja” f.1.50, bagi s.k.
Tatsuo Ichiki. daerahf.1.30.
131
Humaniora, Vol. 25, No. 2 Juni 2013: 129 - 142
It was stated that the reduction of the page “Asia Raja jang djoega mempoenjai sifat
numbers and the increasing monthly subscription dan tjorak sebagai alat bagi pemerintah
price were caused by the scarcity of paper because Bala Tentara, kini menghadapi kesoekaran
of the war. On Monday, March 1, 1943, Asia Raja jang sangat penting dalam melangsoengkan
still had 4 pages. From Tuesday to Friday (2-5 kewadjibannja. Inilah alasan jang memaksa
March), it then was published with 2 pages and kamimengachiripenerbitan AsiaRaja.”
the following Saturday, March 6, it was again
published with four pages. In short, Asia Raja was published from April
In the beginning of 1944, the format of Asia 29, 1942 to Friday, September 7, 1945. During this
Raja changed. The price remained the same, but time, Asia Rajahad published 216 editions.
there was some contribution for the Romusha
workers and the National Guard (Tentara Pembela
TanahAir)asfollows: GOVERNMENTMESSAGESINTHE
Alamat Kantor Redaksi & Administrasi: ADVERTISEMENTS
YamatoBashiKitaDoori8,Djakarta Considering the background of Asia Raja
Telepon : 3250 dan 3270, Djakarta establishment, we can clearly see that Asia
PemimpinOemoem:R.Soekardjo Raja was used by the Japanese Government as
Wirjopranoto propaganda of the government in his colony. It is
Harga Langganan 3 boelan f. 4.50 ditambah more obviously seen when we comprehend the
10 sen seboelan oentoek Roomukyokai dan content of the newspaper.
Tentara Pembela Tanah Air Most of the news, for example, showed the
Pentjetak Hookabe Masaji Japanese troop sensation and the defeat of the
Several days after the independence of Allied Forces. In addition, the East sentiment
Indonesia, August 17, 1945, Asia Raja was was visibly exposed. The riot in India, for
still published. The news about the Indonesian instance, was exposed as the form of the Indian
Independence Proclamation was put as the dissatisfaction against English colonialism. Jose
headline, in a bigger font size than that of the Rizal mortality ceremony, the Philippine hero and
newspaper’s name. On August 18, 1945 the the speech of Benigno Aquino, was extensively
appointment of Ir. Soekarno and his vice president reviewed to show the awareness of the East
Moh. Hatta appeared on this newspaper. And against the west colonization as shown at the
even, in the following day, the application of Japanese bravery and victory in various battles.
Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 as the Constitution If the Dutch, with their colonial politics, tried
wasalsopresented in this newspaper. to create the self image as the Europe civilization,
The other news in Asia Raja after the the Japanese positioned themselves as the liberator
independence was still around the independence of East Asia and the whole Asia from the English,
days, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American and Dutch imperialism. Look at the
the allied forces, and the result of the bombing. “New Year Address” from the Prime Minister
On Friday, September 7, 1945, this newspaper Hedeki Todjo as the headline of Asia Raja January
presented the title “Asia Raja Minta Diri” (Asia 1, 1943 (2603 according to the Japanese calendar)
Raja ‘resigned’). And that was the last publication that Japan intended to continue the war until the
of this newspaper. Under the name of Asia Raja it final victory. This was clearly emphasized by
was written: Djumat, 7 September 2605. The last Prime Minister Todjo in his new year address to
number, the IV year, No. 216. The notes of the the Japanese as follows:
termination, as cited for the first paragraph, are as “Ditahoen ke-18 Sjowa ini maka tepat setahoen
follows: lamanja sedjak peperangan Asia Timoer Raja
132
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