Under Japanese Occupation
Historical fiction and non-fiction set in and/or are about countries that were under Japanese occupation.
Recommendations are welcome. đđ»
created by loveislikebread
last updated January, 2026
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I have some recs from my personal reading pile!
The Defining Years of the Dutch East Indies, 1942-1949: Survivors' Accounts of Japanese Invasion and Enslavement of Europeans and the Revolution That Created Free Indonesia Eight Prison Camps: A Dutch Family in Japanese Java Lost Childhood: My Life in a Japanese Prison Camp During World War II
I will warn that while what I read of the first-hand accounts of the first book are incredibly valuable, the intro by the editor has some wild Netherlands apologia.
I'm very much hoping/looking forward to seeing if there are more primary sources on this anyone else has read. Originally I was going to form my thesis around the subject of the occupation of the then-called Dutch East Indies, but I was unhappy on how much the first sources I found prioritized specifically white colonials versus mixed families like my family was - tracking down sources in English and doing the research was just going to be too much to do with the deadlines I had. Not to mention the subject of these POWs is a rather politically fraught subject. Still, I think the stories deserve to be shared.
Adding your books to my list and will reply in more detail later. â€ïž
Iâm kind of shocked by how overrepresented memoirs of white Dutch people are in this topic (not this list specifically, I mean the area of study). I havenât actually read anything from that perspective, but do they discuss the Dutch occupation of Indonesia at all? Is there any accountability or reflection on how that occupation might mirror the Japanese one?
Not really, in my limited experience. What I've read were mostly accounts of children and young women, civilians, and I would not reasonably expect them to veer into global political discourses.
It's worth noting that the following Indonesian government actively silenced any discussion of Japanese war crimes, since per their narrative, they helped Indonesia oust the Dutch. Which means all the forced famine, labor enslavement, and sexual slavery just.... didn't happen, obviously. This has likely made it very unsafe or at the very least unpopular for survivors aside from the white ones who repatriated to the Netherlands to discuss things.
really important topic, thank you for creating the list. i have a few fiction recs: Can't I Go Instead by Lee Geumyi The Apology by Han Jimin Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sokyoung
Thank you! These are a good addition.
Grass by Keum Sok Gendry-Kim is a graphic novel that relies on first hand interviews to tell a personal story about the sexual slavery that existed under Japanese occupation. I think it would be a good fit for this list.
Thank you for your recommendation. â€ïž
Such a great list!! As a Malaysian who aims to read more of this topic, I'd like to recommend the fiction novel The Storm We Made by Malaysian author Vanessa Chan! Although more fiction, I still think it was an interesting book that depicted the many perspectives of people during the occupation and the wrong decisions which were made đđŒ
Absolutely! I want both fic and non-fic in the list. Both are important. Thanks you for the recommendation.
It's a sequel but "When the Future Comes Too Soon" by Selina Siak Chin Yoke is about a Chinese Malaysian family during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia. Another is The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim. This is set in occupied Korea.
Thank you! These are a good addition to the list.
thank you for making this list! if you're still looking for recs, i think how we disappeared by jing-jing lee would be a good fit đ
Yes, more recommendations are welcome. Thank you!
thank you for making this list!! (and to folks commenting) â canât wait to dig thru everything
These are two books that Iâve been meaning to got to/have saved, but I think they fit here!
Lolasâ House: Filipino Women Living with War by M. Evelina Galang (nonfiction)
When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe (fiction)
Unit 731: Testimony by Hal Gold - though i'd caution most people that reading the wikipedia on this is enough. it's incredibly harrowing to another level.
Hidden Horrors by Yuki Tanaka - very rare as the author is Japanese, he's written extensively and critically about Japan during the war and post-war responsibility across various books. he also wrote to the emperor of Japan (not Hirohito, but Hirohito's son Akihito before his abdication) addressing his father's responsibility in the war crimes here that i found interesting
