Japan had contrived the Mukden Incident in China's northeast on 18 September 1931 for a pretext to invade China. After taking over China's 3 northeastern provinces, Japan provoked the Lugou Bridge ( Marco Polo Bridge) Incident to create a pretext for launching a full-scale war to invade the whole of China.
By the middle of 1938 the invasion had become a stalemate. Japan could win battles and occupy territory in China but could not pacify the territory it occupied.
To fight the war (the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1931/1937 – 1945) it was waging to conquer China, Japan realized it needed war material available from territories to the south of China. These territories were French Indo-China; British Burma, Malaya and Borneo; the Philippines (controlled by the US); and the Dutch (Netherlands) East Indies. Japan felt compelled to attack the colonial masters in these territories to wrest control of these territories and take possession of the war material and resources which Japan wanted. Japan concluded that the US navy fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (US Territory), had to be destroyed or crippled to prevent it from interfering in Japan's attack on territories to the south of China.
Consequently, Japan attacked British Malaya starting near Kota Bharu at 00:25 (local time) on 8 December 1941, with the objective of capturing Singapore. Pearl Harbor was attacked 85 minutes later at 07:50 (local time) on 7 December 1941 to prevent the US from interfering in Japan's attack upon British Malaya. These attacks, which extended the war in China into British, US, and Dutch territories to the south of China and in the Pacific ocean, expanded the Sino-Japanese War into the Greater East Asia War and merged it with the war in Europe to make the Second World War. Singapore was captured 69 days later, on 15 February 1942.
Thus, Malaya & Singapore were under Japanese Occupation from February 1942 to September 1945.
Initially, the Japanese continued the use of British colonial postage stamps and captured stamps were over-printed by the new masters for use.
On 8 December 1942 – the first anniversary of the attack on British Malaya – stamps designed for use in Japan were issued for use in Malaya and 4 denominations of these are known.
In February 1943, more stamps designed for use in Japan were issued for use in Malaya.
An example of stamps designed for use in Japan being used in Malaya/Singapore is Numistamp Item 000001 (unique item – the only one of its kind known to be still in existence!)
As the stocks of captured stamps were used up, and Japan had its own plans for Malaya & Singapore, it became necessary to issue new stamps designed for use in Malaya & Singapore.
On 29 April 1943, the first Japanese designed postage stamps – designed specifically for use in Malaya & Singapore – were issued:
On 1 June 1943, the 2 cent (for printed papers, Numistamp Item 000192) postage stamp was issued.
On 1 October 1943, seven denominations of postage stamps were issued:
On 1 September 1943, Savings Campaign postage stamps were issued:
On 15 February 1944, the second anniversary of the capture of Singapore, two denominations of postage stamps were issued to commemorate the rebirth of Malaya as part of Greater Japan:
Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers at noon on 15 August 1945. Malaya and Singapore returned to British colonial rule on 12 September 1945 with the formal surrender by the commander of Japanese forces in South East Asia at Singapore City Hall.
