Our group will be working with another group to produce a documentary and we will be using their blog from now on while this blog will be going to serve as information for the documentary that we are going to produce. Any post related to the documentary will be post on their blog and their blog url is : http://bomberkids.blogspot.com

A more defined explanation for "Propaganda"

Propaganda refers to the action taken (can be information, ideas or rumors), especially by a goverment to infulence the opinions or behaviour of a large number of people by spreading certain ideas, beliefs, news which are often inaccurate or biased to help or harm others.

Propaganda is most effective when it is completely truthful. Some propaganda only picks out selective facts to encourage a emotional rather than rational response to the information.

Our group mindmap on task 2: The use of propaganda by the japanese during the attack of singapore as well as during the occupation of singapore.
This was done to infulence the minds of the people in singapore so that they would be loyal to Japan.

Click to view it:

http://bubbl.us/view.php?sid=84483&pw=yaeyI.megNtZcMTZmcTF4eGVTTndkNg

Some pictures evidence to show the propaganda campaigns carried out by the Japanese, this can also be found in our group mindmap but the only difference is that our group mindmap do not have any pictures evidence. The pictures enable us to have a better understanding of the propaganda campaigns carried out by them.

Propaganda carried out by the Japanese during Japanese occupation:

From this:

To this:

The Japanese took over several newspapers. These appeared under different names. The Straits Times was renamed The Shonan Times and later, Syonan Shimbun. The Shonan Times was the official newspaper in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation.The Shonan Times was run by Japanese officers from the Propaganda Department, who threatened to behead anyone who spelt the Emperor's name or title incorrectly. This was done to promote Japanese culture and values.

Articles taken from: http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/ref/japocc.html

Types of money used during the Japanese Occupation:

Banana money

During Japanese occupation, many lived in poverty and was ill. Essential foodstuff was sold at high prices . The situation was made worse by the unlimted supplies of Japanese banana notes. Whenever the authorites needed more money, they just printed more notes. As there was a lot of banana notes, the value of notes dropped leading to soaring prices. Thus, life became harder. This was done to infulence the people.
Pictures taken from: http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/ref/japocc.

The Syonan Shimbun, Feb 28 Syowa 19

The Syonan Shimbun, a Japanese-owned paper during the war years, carried many propaganda articles or stories which put the Japanese in a very good advantage.This article, written by a "Syonan Shimbun Staff Reporter" states that the Fuji Village which the Japanese ordered the Eurasians to create at Bahau in Negri Sembilan, is well on its way to success.

In reality, the project failed.

Article taken from: http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/headline/wbahau.html

Students at an assembly bowing to the Japanese flag.

This was done to get people to show loyalty to Japan.

Pictures taken from:http://yesterday.sg/detail/memories_at_old_ford_factory1/

Propaganda carried out by the Japanese during attack of singapore:

The pictures on the left actually tells us that the Japanese is watching every move of singapore while the pictures on the right tells us that Japanese is every sure that they were going to win as they were prepared for the war.

A sampling of some Japanese WW2 propaganda emerged. Curious scenes of oppressed/colonized Asia and liberated/happy Asia, from the imperialist Japanese perspective...

What is propaganda?
In time of war, there is killing, violence, and hate, all being stirred up. Thoughts and emotions come into play. Ideas and a system of principles, ways of life, and cultures clash. War is no longer only between soldiers on a battlefield but between nations and their ideas. Propaganda is the deliberate spreading of information, rumors and others, this is an infulence to made a world nation of people support the war with mind and spirit.

How was it done?
It was done with the help of news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters that were used to spread widely to help or harm a person. Propaganda is most effective when it is completely truthful.


Why is it powerful?
Images from World War II would speak endless story. Words are powerful, but some of the images in wartime posters drew attention more strongly because they attracted an audience on a wider scale.
Of all the potential targets for propaganda, children are the most weakness because they
have to judge whether a message is propaganda or not. The attention children give during the process of developing their understanding of the world, will cause them to absorb propaganda indiscriminately.



A common technique used by propagandists was to liken the Japanese to animals like snakes and rats. But the most common animal used to portray the Japanese was the monkey. Here, a gun labeled “civilization” is pointed at the head of Japan again portrayed as a monkey about to be blown away. On the chest of the monkey is written “murderers of American fliers.” This was directly pointing to the execution of American airmen who crash landed in Japan during the first American bombing raid over Tokyo in 1943. Notice the face of the monkey. It neither grovels nor fears the gun that is pointed in its face. It has no conscience towards his wicked
action done and would more than likely kill again if not put to death immediately; there is no hope for repenting in this beast.


This was one of a typically propaganda pictures. There are still many of these pictures and in fact, most of the the pictures were taken by Japanese soldiers themselves as a souvenior snapshots. As you can see in this pictures, after the Japanese soldier had killed the person, he could face the camera with a smile on his face. This show that he did not had any
conscience nor remorseful towards his cruetly action but instead he was happy because he felt that he had done something proud for his country.
Pictures taken from:
http://www.princeton.edu/~nanking/html/image_8.html

About Fort Siloso
Fort Silioso was built by the British in the 1880s as to help in protecting the port. Fort Siloso is the only preserved British coastal fortification in Singapore today. It is located at the western tip of Sentosa, the fort became a concentration camp for POWs (Prisoners Of War) during the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945. Today, Fort Siloso has been converted into a military museum, displaying its history and guns. Other coastal guns from different parts of Singapore have been brought here for display. It is served as one of the tourist attractions at Sentonsa. It is also the complete fort in singapore.

Some places at fort siloso where we could take our shooting.

The guard room

Former British military

The Battle of Singapore and the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)

On 7 December 1941, Japan attakked Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War began in earnest. One of Japan's objectives was to capture Southeast Asia and secure the rich supply of natural resources to feed its military and industry needs. Singapore, the main Allied base in the region, was an obvious military target. The British military commanders in Singapore had believed that the Japanese attack would come by sea from the south, since the dense Malayan jungle in the north would serve as a natural barrier against invasion. Although the British had drawn up a plan for dealing with an attack on northern Malaya, preparations were never completed. The military was confident that "Fortress Singapore" would withstand any Japanese attack and this confidence was further reinforced by the arrival of Force Z, a squadron of British warships dispatched to the defense of Singapore, including the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, and cruiser HMS Repulse. The squadron was to have been accompanied by a third capital ship, the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, but it ran aground en route, leaving the squadron without air cover.
On 8 December 1941, Japanese forces landed at Kota Bahru in northern Malaya. Just two days after the start of the invasion of Malaya, Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk 50 miles off the coast of Kuantan in Pahang, by a force of Japanese bombers and torpedo bomber aircraft, in the worst British naval defeat of World War II. Allied air support did not arrive in time to protect the two capital ships. After this incident, Singapore and Malaya suffered daily air raids, including those targeting civilian structures such as hospitals or shophouses with casualties ranging from the tens to the hundreds each time.
The Japanese army advanced swiftly southward through the Malay Peninsula, crushing or bypassing Allied resistance. The Allied forces did not have tanks, which they considered as unsuitable in the tropical rainforest, and their infantry proved powerless against the Japanese light tanks. As their resistance failed against the Japanese advance, the Allied forces were forced to retreat southwards towards Singapore. By 31 January 1942, a mere 55 days after the start of the invasion, the Japanese had conquered the entire Malay peninsula and were poised to attack Singapore.

Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history.
The causeway linking Johore and Singapore was blown up by the Allied forces in an effort to stop the Japanese army. However, the Japanese managed to cross the Straits of Johor in inflatable boats days after. Several heroic fights by the Allied forces and volunteers of Singapore's population against the advancing Japanese, such as the Battle of Pasir Panjang, took place during this period. However, with most of the defences shattered and supplies exhausted, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival surrendered the Allied forces in Singapore to General Tomoyuki Yamashita of the Imperial Japanese Army on Chinese New Year, 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, Australian and British troops became prisoners of war, many of whom would later be transported to Burma, Japan, Korea, or Manchuria for use as slave labour via prisoner transports known as "hell ships." The fall of Singapore was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history.

Singapore, renamed Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō, "Light of the South Island" in Japanese), was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese Occupation is the darkest period of Singaporean history as the Japanese army imposed harsh measures against the local population. Numerous atrocities were committed by Japanese troops, particularly by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police. They were the enforcers of the Sook Ching Massacre of Chinese civilians, to retaliate against them for their support of the war effort in China. The mass executions claimed between 25,000 and 50,000 lives in Malaya and Singapore. The rest of the population suffered severe hardship throughout the three and a half years of Japanese occupation.

Roles of each member :

YuanTing - Leader. She's supposed to make sure everyone has a part to do. She'll find sites that are helpful for the group. She'll check if the members has done his or her part in the project.

HeeLiang - Recorder. He will be in charge of writing the things that we say or will be doing. Record the list of things that we need to bring to school next Thursday.

Pearlyn- Questioner. She'll check the things that we need and ask questions about the project.

Grace - Encourager. She will encourage the members of the group to take part in the activity. She will also be posting on our schedule or any changes made.