Raising the question of the reactions to the Japanese takeover in Southeast Asia is very delicate and original for many reasons. Firstly, Southeast Asia is a broad region and it is most likely that the reactions of locals will differ greatly from one place to another. Secondly, there is not one Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia but many local invasions that do not take place in the mean time but which span several years. Thirdly, there is almost no serious study on the reaction of the population. Most scholars focus on particular aspects such as battles or specific decisions made at some point but not specifically on the true feelings of the population. This topic is hence tricky and has to be treated in a cautious way as a variety of very different groups with diverging interests are classed under the term "locals". Consequently, reactions may be very different according to the group in question.
[...] Therefore, most Malays showed themselves quite cooperative as opposed to the Chinese who had to endure brutalities as they were seen to be potential traitors because of their ethnic origins. Finally, Indians were numerous to engage in the Indian National Army trained by the Japanese whose aim was to take India over from the British. Nevertheless, Indians were a large part of those who died building the Burma railway alienating part of the community to the Japanese. When war began to spread over Indochina, Thailand took some advantages of the war to gain new territories over Laos and Cambodia that Japan had conceded. [...]
[...] Thus, imperialism was repackaged as altruism and most of the local elites were seduced notably in terms of the empowerment they benefited from. It was clear from the beginning of the American domination that the Philippines would eventually be an independent nation from the United States and such a certainty led many nationalists to cope with and even support the American colonization. Strangely enough and probably for the first time ever, nationalism and colonization seemed to strengthen each other and when the war started, the locals were much more supportive of their colonizer than they used to be. [...]
[...] Indonesians were placed at the bottom of this scale and so had to face the worst treatments and were denied powers that other Asian countries were granted such as administering their own internal affairs. Similarly, Japan's Muslim policy revealed inconsistent. On the one hand, it pleased the local Ulamas because of Japan's anti-Christian and anti-Western ideologies. However on the other hand, decisions such as bowing mosques in the direction of Tokyo and the teaching of Japanese instead of Arabic in religious schools frustrated Muslims and finally alienated them to the cause of Japan. [...]
[...] Evaluate the motivations that fueled these varying responses, taking into consideration particular local situations and periods of the war. Raising the question of the reactions to the Japanese takeover in Southeast Asia is very delicate and original for many reasons. Firstly, Southeast Asia is a broad region and it is most likely that the reactions of locals will differ greatly from one place to another. Secondly, there is not one Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia but many local invasions that do not take place in the mean time but which span several years. [...]
[...] Later on, the militaries took over and manipulated the royal family to detain the real power as opposed to the kind who had no longer any role apart from being a nationally recognized figure. The new authorities, led by the People's Party, implemented Western inspired line of politics, which had some good results in terms of health, education and social welfare. Nonetheless, the government took a turn to the right and rejected Western values and way of life as well as any form of Western nationalism. [...]
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