Eastern News Agency was a Japanese news agency established in October 1938 at Singapore. Three employees provided information service for the newspaper company in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

and for Japanese residents living in Singapore. Almost all of its news had originally been provided by Dōmei Tsushin. In August 1940, related to , managing editor Ishiro Kobayashi was detained by the Police Office of Singapore. In September 1940,

Mamoru Shinozaki was a journalist for Dentsu (later Dōmei) and spy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in pre-war years, a military executive in Japanese-occupied Singapore, and a businessman and writer in post-war years. He is known for the in 1940, and fo ...

, an employee of the agency, was arrested and then sentenced as guilty for so-called espionage :.

Establishment

In October 1938, Eastern News Agency started its action in Singapore. There were three employees. Managing editor Ishiro Kobayashi was also a member of Dōmei Tsushin Singapore Branch.

was a member of the agency. During the period from August to October 1938, the employee of the agency immigrated to Singapore using official passport and as "press attach" of the Japanese consulate general of Singapore. *Kobayashi immigrated just before the establishment of the agency. Shinozaki immigrated to Singapore in August 1938. When they immigrated, the Immigration Bureau of

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

questioned them and did not approved them as formal member of consulate.

Activities

Eastern News Agency provided the information service: "Eastern News" for free to British Malaya' newspapers and Japanese residents living in Singapore and other cities. Almost all of the news they provided were originally provided by the Japanese Dōmei Tsushin. *Shinozaki in 1981 remarked that his mission was to provide "fresh and undistorted Japanese news", i.e.

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

, through the

Singapore Herald The ''Singapore Herald'' was a tabloid newspaper in Singapore whose publishing license was suspended by the Singapore government on May 28, 1971. The government had accused the paper of being involved in "black operations", of being funded by quest ...

, which was a newly issued English newspaper and published in Singapore, by inviting

Bill Hosokawa William Kunpei Hosokawa (January 30, 1915 – November 9, 2007) was an American writer and journalist. Of Japanese descent, while internment of Japanese Americans, interned at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, he was the editor of the i ...

from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

as the chief editor.

Espionage and propaganda

On August 4, 1940, related to the arrest of ten or more Britons in Japan and , Kobayashi was arrested by Police Office of Singapore. After 49 days of detainment, on September 21, 1940, he discharged. On September 21, 1940, the same day of Kobayashi's discharge, Shinozaki was arrested on suspicion of espionage. Then by the Court he sentenced as guilty, was punished for three year's imprisonment and jailed: . In November 1940, on the Court of Shinozaki, it was found that the Eastern News Agency planned to re-organize its teams and newly establish a Chinese news team before Shinozaki's arrest.

Footnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern News Agency, Singapore 1938 establishments in Singapore Publishing companies established in the 1930s Japanese spies World War II espionage Japan–Singapore relations