During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia (1942–1945), visual media became a strategic tool for control. Posters, pamphlets, and ephemera were used to promote Asia Raya, a pan-Asian unity under Japanese rule, while hiding the realities of repression and forced labor. Cheerful scenes of farmers and loyal workers projected an image of harmony, discipline, and loyalty.
Central to this effort was the 3A campaign (Jepang cahaya Asia, pelindung Asia, pemimpin Asia), a messaging strategy that cast Japan as Asia’s leader, protector, and guiding light. This series explores how propaganda shaped public perception, and how visuals were used to legitimize occupation.
Japanese troops occupy the Dutch East Indies, ending over 300 years of colonial rule. Japan positions itself as a liberator, not a conqueror, and introduces the vision of Asia Raya.
The 3A campaign, Japan as Asia’s light, protector, and leader becomes central to its messaging strategy. Visual propaganda intensifies, promoting agricultural discipline, anti-Western sentiment, and loyalty to the emperor.
As Japan’s war effort falters, propaganda becomes more urgent and instructive. At the same time, public morale declines as forced labor, food shortages, and repression grow increasingly visible behind the imagery of unity.
Japan surrenders in August 1945. As the empire collapses, much of its propaganda is removed, destroyed, or forgotten. Yet fragments remain revealing how design was used to sustain an illusion of unity and control.
