Poems and biography of Mamoru Shinozaki, a diplomat and administrator during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore/Syonan-To from 1942 to 1945. Useful background and material for students and teachers who are studying World War 2 in Singapore from the perspective of the Japanese. His account is quite atypical of other Japanese accounts.

1. Poems by Mamoru Shinozaki
Poem 1
Alone in Singapore
No merit, yet in jail
Look for north-east in dawn light
Bow my head in heartbreak!
Poem 2
Yesterday new convicts came in at evening bell
Morning saw old prisoners leave
So lonely I dwell
No Spring during three years in jail
Cherry blossoms in Japan: when will I hail?
Poem 3
Singapore surrounded by Japanese Imperial Army
Moonlight shines over the island tonight
British singing sad Lang Syne1
about their homes
When the long expedition2
ends, so too must my life.
1 Lang Syne - an old Scottish songexpressingfeelings of friendship,traditionally sungatmidnighton New
Year’s Eve
2 expedition - an organized journey with a particular purpose,especially to find out about a placethat is not
well known

2. About the Poems
All the three poems are taken from Mamoru Shinozaki’s book titled, Syonan My Story, pp26-
32. According to the book, these poems were written while Shinozaki was imprisoned in
Changi Prison between September 1940 to February 1942.
About the Poet
Mamoru Shinozaki (b. 19 February 1908, Fukuoka, Japan–d. 1991, location unknown) came
to Singapore in 1938 as a Japanese government official. He was convicted and jailed for
espionage in 1940, and released after Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World
War II. Appointed to roles such as adviser of Defence Headquarters, chief education officer
and chief welfare officer during the Japanese Occupation (1942–45), Shinozaki became
known for issuing protection cards to save lives during the Sook Ching operation as well as
for his involvement in the Endau and Bahau settlements. After the war, Shinozaki was a
witness in several war crimes trials, including that of Japanese officers involved in Sook
Ching. Shinozaki was later criticised for downplaying casualty figures of the Sook Ching
massacre, and alleged to have given an inaccurate account of the formation of the Oversea
Chinese Association (OCA).
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1686_2010-07-26.html
About the Context
In Singapore, Shinozaki’s initial role was to provide updates for Japanese newspapers, but
he was later asked to report to the Japanese government on local conditions and British
military defence. He socialised with British servicemen stationed in Singapore, often holding
parties for them at his residence on Wareham Road. Shinozaki’s close contact with the
servicemen, coupled with the heightened British concern over Japanese presence in
Singapore at the time, built the case for the Special Branch (today’s Internal Security
Department) to place Shinozaki under surveillance from July 1940.
On 21 September 1940, Shinozaki was arrested by the Special Branch. Earlier that month,
Shinozaki had led two Japanese military officers – Lieutenant Colonel Tanikawa Kazuo, a
senior Army General Staff planning officer, and his assistant, Captain Kunitake Teruhito – to
various locations in Singapore, Malacca and parts of Johor including Kota Tinggi and
Mersing. The purpose of the trip was to survey military installations and study the British
defence capability. Among the observations gathered during the tour included the lack of
defence in the northwestern part of Singapore and the heavy defence in the south to guard
against an attack by sea. Colonel Masanobu Tsuji, chief officer of the research unit that
planned the Japanese invasion of Malaya, later recounted in his memoir that the two officers
had provided “important suggestions” pertaining to Malaya.
Shinozaki was found guilty on two charges under the Official Secrets Ordinance: soliciting
military information from a British Army serviceman that would be useful to a foreign power;
and collecting information regarding troop movements that would be prejudicial to the
interests of the British Empire. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years of rigorous
imprisonment and a $1,000 fine or an additional six months’ simple imprisonment. Shinozaki
was incarcerated in Changi Prison.
Although Shinozaki denied in his memoir, Syonan, My Story: The Japanese Occupation of
Singapore, that he had been a spy, he admitted that he tried to make contact with British

3. soldiers to find out the positioning of British defences in an oral history interview conducted
in 1973.
Oversea Chinese Association
During World War 2, the Overseas Chinese Association was formed led by Lim Boon Keng.
The OCA was ordered to raise $50 million for the Japanese military in March 1942.
Shinozaki said that he was not involved in the process and the oversight of the OCA was
transferred to the Military Administration Department. By August that year, the OCA was
returned to the municipal administration and Shinozaki became an adviser to the OCA.
Appointments in the Education and Welfare departments
In March 1942, Shinozaki was also appointed chief officer of education in the Education
Department. His immediate tasks were to reopen schools and reorganise teaching staff. In a
1985 interview, Herman Marie De Souza, who had worked with Shinozaki in the Education
Department, recalled that Shinozaki helped to “soften” directives from the Military
Administration to accommodate the teachers. For example, Shinozaki managed to secure
the release of school buildings that were being used by the military.
In August 1942, Shinozaki was appointed as the chief welfare officer. In this capacity,
Shinozaki also helped set up the Eurasian Welfare Association, which represented the
Eurasian community to the Japanese administration. Charles Paglar Eurasian surgeon, was
appointed to head it. EWA later organised the Bahau settlement.
In a postwar interview, a sister who managed the Little Sisters of the Poor Home on
Thomson Road during the war said that Shinozaki ensured a continual food supply to the
home.Shinozaki also helped to seek medical treatment for Lady Lucy Thomas, wife of former
British governor Shenton Thomas, when she was ill.30
Endau and Bahau settlements
In 1943, due to food shortages in Singapore, the Japanese administration launched
resettlement schemes to relocate people to farming communities outside Singapore in order
to reduce the local population. This led to the establishment of the Endau and Bahau
settlements in peninsular Malaya. Shinozaki was tasked to oversee the resettlement
projects, and he in turn approached the OCA to organise the relocation of Chinese people to
Endau, Johor. Shinozaki persuaded the OCA to agree to the project by promising that the
new settlement would offer freedom to residents because it would be run entirely by the
OCA without the presence of military authorities. In November 1943, the OCA formed 10
bureaus to manage the new settlement, and the first batch of settlers moved into Endau in
February 1944. Due to numerous factors including the financing and management
experience of the OCA, as well as the location of Endau which had been picked by the OCA
and Shinozaki, Endau developed rapidly.
Encouraged by the success of Endau and the prospect of escaping from the surveillance of
the Kempetai in Singapore, Bishop Devals and the EWA, led by C. J. Paglar, decided to take
up Shinozaki’s offer to set up another settlement in Bahau, Negri Sembilan. The Bahau
settlement was for Eurasian and Chinese Roman Catholics, with the first batch of settlers

4. leaving for the new settlement at the end of 1943. However, the location of Bahau was not
ideal as an agricultural settlement because of the soil quality and the area was prone to
malaria. Coupled with the lack of financial backing and farming experience of the Eurasian
settlers, Bahau encountered many problems including disease and malnourishment.38
Postwar years
After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Shinozaki was interned in a Jurong camp along
with some 6,800 other Japanese. However, the Chinese and Catholic communities
petitioned the British on his behalf and he was released. Shinozaki then worked with the
British field security service as a translator and interpreter, assisting in the repatriation of
Japanese citizens. He also translated Kempeitai (Japanese Military Police) reports on
Malayan communists.45
Shinozaki was a witness in a number of postwar trials. Besides the 1947 Sook Ching trial, he
was also called as a prosecution witness in the trial of Paglar, who was accused of
collaborating with the Japanese and charged for treason. During the trial, Shinozaki
defended Paglar stating that the reason Paglar co-operated with the Japanese military was
because he wanted to protect the Eurasian community. Shinozaki also testified that he had
ordered Paglar to work with the Japanese. The case against Paglar was eventually
withdrawn and he was acquitted.
In 1947, Shinozaki was repatriated. Four years later, he attempted to re-enter Singapore by
ship. Colonial immigration authorities denied him a visa, thus preventing him from going
ashore, but he received visitors on board the vessel, including Lim Boon Keng. In 1975,
Shinozaki was allowed to enter Singapore to promote the English-language translation of his
war memoir, Syonan, My Story: The Japanese Occupation of Singapore.
Bibliography
About Mamoru Shinozaki
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1686_2010-07-26.html
Shinozaki, M. (2011). Syonan My Story. Singapore: Marshal Cavendish Education. First
published in 1975 by Asia Pacific Press Pte Ltd. Published by Times Books International in
1982. Reprinted 1984, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2006.
Shinozaki, M. (1973). My wartime experiences in Singapore. Singapore: Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies, p. 1. (Call no.: RSING 959.57023 SHI)
Soh, N. (2005, September 12). Japanese saviour, the Schindler of Singapore. The Straits
Times, p. 5. Retrieved from