What was happening in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation

The Japanese Occupation is generally regarded by Singaporeans as the darkest times in Singaporean history. The Japanese claimed that they were liberating Southeast Asia from colonialism, but in reality they were far harsher rulers than the British ever were. In addition to civilian casualties, numerous atrocities were committed by Japanese troops, particularly by the Kempetai, the Japanese military's secret police; the Japanese military used rape and comfort women(women forced into sexual slavery). For instance, the Sook Ching massacre of ethnic Chinese, including civilians who had donated to charities to aid the war effort in China, claimed between 25,000 and 50,000 lives in Malaya and Singapore. Commoners were made to bow to the Kempetai as they passed, if not, they would be punished. The Japanese introduced a system, called Sook Ching, to "purify" the commoners. There were secret informers all over the island and they would accuse other citizens to save their ownselves. When asked by the Japanese, they would simply point to anyone. These people were then captured, taken to a deserted place, made to dig their graves, shot and buried. The commoners lived in constant fear as they did not know who to trust.

Resources were scarce during the Japanese Occupation. The Japanese issued rations cardsto control the amount of rations that each individual got. The adults got 4.8kg per month, and the children 2.4kg. The amount rationed to the adults were reduced by 25% as the war progressed. The Japanese issued banana money as their main currency, giving them further control over the economy as Straits currency became rare. In this sense, the Japanese instituted elements of a command economy in which there were restrictions on how much could be bought or sold, creating a popular black market. The "banana currency" started to suffer high inflation and dropped drastically in value because the authorities would simply print more whenever they needed more money; consequently the black market often used Straits currency. Food quality and availability decreased greatly. Tapioca, sweet potato and yam became the staple food for most diets in Singapore as it was considerably cheaper than rice and could be grown in gardens.