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.

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 🙏🏼

These are two books that I’ve been meaning to got to/have saved, but I think they fit here!

Lolas’ House: Filipino Women Living with War by M. Evelina Galang (nonfiction)

When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe (fiction)

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.

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

How did you know I wanted this exact list? Thank you OP & everyone else who contributed in the comments.

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 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 💕

thank you for making this list!! (and to folks commenting) — can’t wait to dig thru everything

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

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See!

Personal recommendation: The flowers of war by Geling Yan. This short novel about the rape of Nanking was made into a film by Zhang Yimou in 2012.

Three years ago, this title was my first approach to the Chinese literature and my starting point to read a wider variety of Asian books, not only Japanese ones. After this, I got a library from the Korean Translation Institute, and once I had read some contemporary titles, my horizons expanded to the diasporic Asian writers, which let me discover and enjoy Fonda Lee and June Hur.

A little disclaimer: this book can emotionally damage you.

would recommend adding: Comfort Woman: A Filipina's Story of Prostitution and Slavery Under the Japanese Military by Maria Rosa Henson.

it’s an autobiography about the author’s own experience of being forced into prostitution at a very young age.