Indonesia 1937-1942: prelude to Japanese occupation

As is well known, Indonesians experienced a catastrophic lowering of living standards during the war. It is also well known that this was in large part due to the greed and cruelty of the Japanese army. Though further studies are warranted, a continuous search for crimes may not lead to a qualitative improvement in our knowledge. Monocausal explanations have long blinded us to other important factors; living standards during the War cannot be explained solely in terms of exploitation.