2018-03-15 Thu

Japan had conquered many colonies during the Second World War. Special currency notes were officially issued by the Japanese Government in these states to replace the local currency. These currency notes were known as ‘Japanese Invasion Money’. Both Wartime Finance Bank and the Southern Development Bank used bonds to raise money.

Japanese invasion money was issued in countries like Philippines, Burma, Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak (now Malaysia), Singapore, Brunei, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and some areas of Oceania (New Guinea and the Solomon and Gilbert islands).

In Philippine, Japan issued Pesos. The first issue of Japanese invasion money in the Philippines was launched in 1942 of denominations 1, 5, 10 and 50 centavos and 1, 5, and 10 Pesos. “Replacement notes” of the 1, 5 and 10 Pesos were introduced in 1943. 100 and 500 Peso notes were introduced in 1944. When the war was almost ending in 1945, 1,000 Pesos notes were issued.

Some Filipinos called these Japanese fiat pesos "Mickey Mouse money". These bills were often used by American psychological warfare personnel as propaganda leaflets with overprinted "The Co-prosperity Sphere: What is it worth?", in an attempt to discredit the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and dropped from Allied aircraft over the occupied territories.

Image Courtesy: Wiki Commons