The Japanese government-issued rupee in Burma was a

Japanese invasion money Japanese invasion money, officially known as Southern Development Bank Notes ( ''Dai Tō-A Sensō gunpyō'', "Greater East Asia War military scrip"), was currency issued by the Japanese Military Authority, as a replacement for local currency afte ...

issued by the Japanese Military Authority, as a replacement for local currency during the Japanese occupation of Burma in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The Japanese invaded Burma in January 1942. They conquered Mandalay on 21 May 1942, forcing the British to retreat into India. The Japanese held Burma until the second Allied campaign of 1944, although an official surrender did not take place until August 1945. In 1942, the Japanese issued paper sculpture currency of 1, 5, and 10 cents and Re. , Re. , Re. 1/-, Rs. 5/-, and Rs. 10/-. Like most Japanese colonial currency from this period, a letter code was used on the notes. The first or top letter “B” indicates the note was printed and issued for Burma. The second letter or letters indicate the block (or printing batch) of the note, there are single letter blocks and double letter blocks for Burma, with the latter two letter blocks being identified by a hyphen separating the letter "B" from the block letters. In 1943, the Japanese commuted the sentence of Dr

Ba Maw Ba Maw ( my, ဘမော်, ; 8 February 1893 – 29 May 1977) was a Burmese lawyer and political leader, active during the interwar and World War II periods. Dr. Ba Maw is a descendant of the Mon Dynasty. He was the first Burma Premier ...

, an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule, and installed him as the head of the

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...

. From 1943 onward the Japanese issued paper sculpture currency of Re. 1/-, Rs. 5/-, and Rs. 10/- with a Rs. 100 note/- in 1944. The Japanese characters in the oblong box at the bottom of each note read “Government of Great Imperial Japan” and the contents of the seal comprise the Japanese symbol for the Minister of Finance. When all of these notes became obsolete, punch holes were made to indicate that the note had been "cancelled" and therefore demonetised. Prior to the Japanese invasion, Burma circulated the

Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use w ...

issued by the Reserve Bank of India since the nationalized paper currency was introduced by the British Administration in 1897.

Japanese government-issued rupee in Burma (1942–44)

See also

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