The “Missing Link” in Modern Indonesian History

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) Nos. 16H05679 & 19H01321

This project seeks to explore the connections between the Japanese occupation period and the prewar and postwar periods, specifically focusing on the military administrative networks during the war. While some prewar contacts certainly did feed into the wartime networks, and merit some further exploration, during the postwar period, contacts formed in the context of military administration seem to have been of some importance, though they are rarely if ever acknowledged.

This project thus involves continuing efforts to better document the wartime years, as well as an effort to explore various possible sites of postwar interaction and creative searching for evidence. Three areas are currently being explored: medicine, military/defense, and intellectual interactions.

A major part of our efforts with respect to the prewar period revolves around the involvement of individuals from different regions, and we are trying to explore the involvement of individuals from Kyushu, Ogasawara, as well as the Tohoku region.