Legacy of Japanese 'Merdeka' veterans lives on

Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tucked away off Jl. Tebet Raya in South Jakarta is a rather nondescript office in a ruko shop-house block -- nondescript, perhaps, except for the plain white sign that reads Yayasan Warga Persahabatan and following, in Japanese characters, Fukushi Tomo no Kai. Loosely translated, it means the mutual welfare fellowship foundation.

Just within the tinted glass doors is a reception area with a framed scroll of Japanese calligraphy on one wall. To the left is a sitting room with a glass case containing traditional figurines of a lord and lady clad in silk kimonos.

Beyond is a small administrative area, then a meeting room with framed calligraphy scrolls, bookshelves holding Japanese titles on history, political research and other non-fiction genre and a low cabinet bearing another glass case, this one containing a samurai helmet in miniature.

Adorning the shelves and walls are group photographs of Japanese octogenarians and a few younger adults, whose faces do not clearly indicate their ethnic heritage.

An elderly man of impressive stature and bearing walks in, greeting the office staff in a resonant baritone. He is dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark tie, and above his heart is a small bronze pin -- the Bintang Veteran, indicating that he is a former member of the Indonesian armed forces. Yet, the face above the collar is not Indonesian but Japanese.

Eiji Miyahara, also known by his Indonesian name Umar Hartono, 82, is a senior adviser and spokesman of the foundation, which also runs the Mie Gakuen language school in the office next door, and one of the estimated 1,000 soldiers who stayed after the Japanese surrender on Aug. 14, 1945, in Indonesia.

They fought alongside Indonesian independence troops against the returning Dutch, but their contribution does not appear in either Japanese or Indonesian history textbooks.

The permanent display at Museum Proklamasi on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Menteng, Central Jakarta, the historical site of Indonesia's proclamation of independence, details the role the Japanese occupation forces played in the events leading up to Aug. 17, 1945. Of course, it includes the story of how Admiral Tadashi Maeda, chief of the Japanese armed forces liaison office of Indonesia, provided Sukarno, Mohamad Hatta and other key figures of the independence movement the use of his house to make their proclamation.

The document itself is testament to Japan's assistance -- it is dated Aug. 17, 05, the year 2605 according to the Koki calendar which began with the reign of Japan's first emperor.

The 1945-1950 display upstairs covers the independence war fought by guerrilla troops, but there is no mention of the Japanese soldiers who provided them with arms, weapons training and military strategy.

"Of course, Japanese troops had been commanded not to give any weapons to Indonesian freedom fighters upon our defeat -- the government had obligations to the Allies -- so we came up with creative means of achieving this, like organizing weapons drops in designated rivers," Miyahara explained, eyes twinkling.

The majority of men who had stayed behind were common soldiers, scattered throughout the archipelago, many of whom had believed in the "One Asia" policy of the Japanese occupation forces.

"Twenty-five years ago, when Hatakeyama passed away in Sulawesi, several of us gathered to send him off, but we didn't have enough money to inter him. For most of us, it was an awakening -- we hadn't realized so many of us had remained.

"We saw ants beginning to crawl upon Hatakeyama's body, as it happens in the tropics, and we couldn't help but feel how pitiable, how disgraceful was such an end. Most of us were barely making ends meet, just surviving from day to day...and it was on this occasion that we first thought of establishing a foundation to look after the well-being of our fellows and their descendants, to help each other out."

Zanryuu Nihon-hei is the established blanket term -- literally meaning "Japanese soldiers who remained" -- but "remained" in this case incorporates those who were left behind when Japanese forces withdrew from Indonesia, those who stayed by choice, those who were asked to stay and help, those who could not leave because of individual circumstances and those who did not return to Japan for fear that they would be arrested.

At one time, they were also labeled Dasso Nihon-hei: deserters.

The independence war ended on Dec. 27, 1949, when The Hague withdrew all Dutch forces from Indonesia and recognized its sovereignty. Until 1955, however, the soldiers possessed no formal citizenship, disavowed as traitors by the post-war Japanese government and unrecognized by the Indonesian government.

Over the next decade, however, they were each awarded Indonesian citizenship and medals: the Bintang Veteran by president Sukarno, and the Bintang Gerilya, which accords them a plot in Taman Pahlawan Kalibata, the national heroes' cemetery.

"Our ticket to Kalibata," said Miyahara proudly.

In 1964, the Japanese government issued a formal pardon and an invitation to come home, but many could not -- they had taken Indonesian names, married and settled here, and were eking out a living as farmers, fishermen, laborers and whatever they could to put food on the table.

"At a time when we had nothing -- during the guerrilla war and immediately afterwards -- no homes, means of living, citizenship, it was the Indonesian villagers who provided us with food and shelter.

Even in the most remote kampongs, they would come out and greet us with cries of Merdeka! Merdeka! their fists thrust into the air," he recalled, referring to the Indonesian word for independence.

Yayasan Warga Persahabatan was established on July 14, 1979, and its initial membership comprised 107 Japanese veterans -- of whom only three were formerly non-commissioned officers -- across Indonesia. The foundation was under the leadership of Kumpul Noboru Otsudo, widely regarded as the founding father, and Mohammad Amin Masaharu Ishii, who were among the handful of veterans who had achieved relative material success.

Over the next 10 years or so, the founding members branched out and located others, and their membership expanded to 287. They were also able to compile an approximate record of their fellow fighters; about 1,000 had fought in the independence war, of whom at least 400 were known to have died in battle. The fate of the remainder was unknown.

During the 1980s, a few members saw their circumstances improve as Japanese corporations sought out their knowledge on Indonesian culture and language abilities for local investment projects.

These members thus found it possible to contribute financially to the foundation and set up medical funds for aging veterans, educational funds for their children and grandchildren, and a fund to realize its core aim: to contribute to the welfare of the Indonesian people through education and exchange.

They have also gained a more personally satisfying recognition of their contributions and sacrifices: since 1982, the government has extended an invitation to them to attend the commemoration of Independence Day at the State Palace.