Japanese Occupation Of Hong Kong

The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the overwhelming Japanese forces that had invaded the territory.Snow, Philip. 004(2004). The fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China and the Japanese occupation. Yale University Press. , .Mark, Chi-Kwan. 004(2004). Hong Kong and the Cold War: Anglo-American relations 1949–1957. Oxford University Press publishing. , . p 14. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until Japan surrendered at the end of the Second World War. The length of this period (, ) later became a metonym of the occupation.

Background

Imperial Japanese invasion of China

During the Imperial Japanese military's full-scale invasion of China in 1937, Hong Kong as part of the British empire was not under attack. Nevertheless, its situation was influenced by the war in China due to proximity to the mainland China. In early March 1939, during an Imperial Japanese bombing raid on Shenzhen, a few bombs fell accidentally on Hong Kong territory, destroying a bridge and a train station.

World War II

In 1936, Germany and the Empire of Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. In 1937 Fascist Italy joined the pact, forming the core to what would become known as the Axis Powers.

In the autumn of 1941, Nazi Germany was near the height of its military power. After the invasion of Poland and fall of France, German forces had overrun much of Western Europe and were racing towards Moscow. The United States was neutral and opposition to Nazi Germany was given only by Britain, the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union.

The United States provided minor support to China in its fight against Imperial Japan's invasion. It imposed an embargo on the sale of oil to Japan after less aggressive forms of economic sanctions failed to halt Japanese advances. On 7 December 1941 (Honolulu time), Japan entered World War II with the Japanese occupation of Malaya, as well as other attacks including attacking the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor and American-ruled Philippines, and the Japanese invasion of Thailand.

Battle of Hong Kong

As part of a general Pacific campaign, the Japanese launched an assault on Hong Kong on the morning of 8 December 1941. British, Canadian, and Indian forces, supported by the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Forces attempted to resist the rapidly advancing Japanese, but were heavily outnumbered. After racing down the New Territories and Kowloon, Japanese forces crossed Victoria Harbour on 18 December.Tsang, Steve. 007(2007). A Modern History of Hong Kong. I.B.Tauris publishing. , . p 122, 129. After fierce fighting continued on Hong Kong Island on 25 December 1941, British colonial officials headed by the Governor of Hong Kong Mark Aitchison Young surrendered at the Japanese headquarters. To the local people, the day was known as "Black Christmas".

The surrender of Hong Kong was signed on the 26th at The Peninsula Hotel.Bard, Solomon Bard. 009(2009). Light and Shade: Sketches from an Uncommon Life. Hong Kong University Press. , . p 101, 103. On 20 February 1942 General Rensuke Isogai became the first Imperial Japanese governor of Hong Kong.Roland, Charles G. 001(2001). Long night's journey into day: prisoners of war in Hong Kong and Imperial Japan, 1941–1945. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. , . p 40, 49. This ushered in almost four years of Imperial Japanese administration.

Politics

Throughout the Imperial Japanese occupation, Hong Kong was ruled under martial law as an occupied territory.Dillon, Mike. 008(2008). Contemporary China: An Introduction. , . p 184. Led by General Rensuke Isogai, the Japanese established their administrative centre and military headquarters at the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. The military government; comprising administrative, civilian affairs, economic, judicial, and naval departments; enacted stringent regulations and, through executive bureaus, exercised power over all residents of Hong Kong. They also set up the puppet Chinese Representative Council and Chinese Cooperative Council consisting of local leading Chinese and Eurasian community leaders.

In addition to Governor Mark Young, 7,000 British soldiers and civilians were kept in prisoner-of-war or internment camps, such as Sham Shui Po Prisoner Camp and Stanley Internment Camp. Famine, malnourishment and sickness were pervasive. Severe cases of malnutrition among inmates occurred in the Stanley Internment Camp in 1945. Moreover, the Imperial Japanese military government blockaded Victoria Harbour and controlled various warehouses in and around the city.

Early in January 1942, former members of the Hong Kong Police, including Indians and Chinese, were recruited into a reformed police called the ''Kempeitai'' with new uniforms.Carroll, John Mark. 007(2007). A concise history of Hong Kong. , . p 123-125, p 129. The police routinely performed executions at King's Park in Kowloon by using Chinese for beheading, shooting and bayonet practice. The Imperial Japanese gendarmerie took over all police stations and organised the Police in five divisions, namely East Hong Kong, West Hong Kong, Kowloon, New Territories and Water Police. This force was headed by Colonel Noma Kennosuke. The headquarters was situated in the former Supreme Court Building. Police in Hong Kong were under the organisation and control of the Imperial Japanese government. Imperial Japanese experts and administrators were chiefly employed in the Governor's Office and its various bureaus. Two councils of Chinese and Eurasian leaders were set up to manage the Chinese population.

Economy

All trade and economic activities were strictly regulated by Japanese authorities, who took control of the majority of the factories. Having deprived vendors and banks of their possessions, the occupying forces outlawed the Hong Kong Dollar and replaced it with the Japanese Military Yen.Tse, Helen. 008(2008). Sweet Mandarin: The Courageous True Story of Three Generations of Chinese Women and Their Journey from East to West. Macmillan publishing. , . p 90. The exchange rate was fixed at 2 Hong Kong dollars to one military yen in January 1942.Emerson, Geoffrey Charles. 009(2009). Hong Kong Internment, 1942–1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong studies series. HKU Press. , . p 83. Later, the yen was re-valued at 4 Hong Kong dollars to a yen in July 1942, which meant local people could exchange fewer military notes than before. While the residents of Hong Kong were impoverished by the inequitable and forcibly imposed exchange rate, the Imperial Japanese government sold the Hong Kong Dollar to help finance their war-time economy. In June 1943, the military yen was made the sole legal tender. Prices of commodities for sale had to be marked in yen. Hyper-inflation then disrupted the economy, inflicting hardship upon the residents of the colony. Enormous devaluation of the Imperial Japanese Military Yen after the war made it almost worthless.

Public transportation and utilities unavoidably failed, owing to the shortage of fuel and the aerial bombardment of Hong Kong by the Americans. Tens of thousands of people became homeless and helpless, and many of them were employed in shipbuilding and construction. In the agricultural field, the Imperial Japanese took over the race track at Fanling and the air strip at Kam Tin for their rice-growing experiments.Endacott, G. B. Birch, Alan. 978(1978). Hong Kong eclipse. Oxford University Press. , .

With the intention of boosting the Imperial Japanese influence on Hong Kong, two Imperial Japanese banks, the Yokohama Specie Bank and the Bank of Taiwan, were re-opened. These two banks replaced the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and two other British banks responsible for issuing the banknotes. They then liquidated various Allied banks. British, American and Dutch bankers were forced to live in a small hotel, while some bankers who were viewed as enemies of the Imperial Japanese were executed. In May 1942, Imperial Japanese companies were encouraged to be set up. A Hong Kong trade syndicate consisting of Imperial Japanese firms was set up in October 1942 to manipulate overseas trade.

Life under Japanese occupation

Life in fear

In order to cope with a lack of resources and the potential for Chinese residents of Hong Kong to support the allied forces in a possible invasion to retake the colony, the Japanese introduced a policy of forced deportation. As a result, the unemployed were deported to Mainland China, and the population of Hong Kong dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945.

Furthermore, the Japanese modified the territory's infrastructure and landscape significantly in order to serve their wartime interests. In order to expand the Kai Tak Airport, for example, the Japanese demolished the Sung Wong Toi Monument in today's Kowloon City. Buildings of prestigious secondary schools such as Wah Yan College Hong Kong, Diocesan Boys' School, the Central British School, the St. Paul's Girls' College of the Anglican church and La Salle College were commandeered by occupying forces as military hospitals. It was rumoured that Diocesan Boys' School was used by the Japanese as an execution site.

Life was hard for Hong Kong people under Japanese rule. As there was inadequate food supply, the Japanese rationed necessities such as rice, oil, flour, salt and sugar. Each family was given a rationing licence, and every person could only buy 6.4 tael