Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in the context of "German invasion of the Netherlands"

The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,000 to 18,000 islands stretching along the equator in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The country's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade; trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history. The area of Indonesia is populated by peoples of various migrations, creating a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and languages. The archipelago's landforms and climate significantly influenced agriculture and trade, and the formation of states. The boundaries of the state of Indonesia match the 20th-century borders of the Dutch East Indies.

Fossilised remains of Homo erectus, popularly known as "Java Man", and their tools suggest the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited at least 1.5 million years ago. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population, are thought to have originally been from Taiwan and arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE. From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished, bringing Hindu and Buddhist influences with it. The agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia. The earliest evidence of Islamised populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra; other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, which became the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. Europeans such as the Portuguese arrived in Indonesia from the 16th century seeking to monopolise the sources of valuable nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. In 1602, the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) and became the dominant European power by 1610. Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies under government control. By the early 20th century, Dutch dominance extended to the current boundaries. The Japanese invasion and occupation in 1942–1945 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader Sukarno declared independence and became president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish its rule, but a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence.

Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian military general and politician who served as the country's second and longest-serving president. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto led Indonesia as an authoritarian regime from 1967 until his resignation in 1998 following nationwide unrest. His 31-year dictatorship is considered one of the most brutal and corrupt of the 20th century: he was central to the perpetration of mass killings against alleged communists and subsequent persecution of ethnic Chinese, irreligious people, and trade unionists.

Suharto was born in Kemusuk, near the city of Yogyakarta, during the Dutch colonial era. He grew up in humble circumstances. His Javanese Muslim parents divorced not long after his birth, and he lived with foster parents for much of his childhood. During the Japanese occupation, Suharto served in the Japanese-organized Indonesian security forces. During Indonesia's independence struggle, he joined the newly formed Indonesian Army and rose to the rank of major general some time after full Indonesian independence was achieved. An attempted coup on 30 September and 1 October 1965 was countered by Suharto-led troops. The army subsequently led a nationwide violent anti-communist purge. In March 1967, the MPRS appointed Suharto as acting President, and he was appointed President the following year. When Suharto came to power, inflation was running at over 650%. He appointed an economic advisory group that implemented free market policies, and by 1969 the country entered a period of price stability. Suharto ordered an invasion of East Timor in 1975, followed by a 23-year occupation of the country and genocide.

The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces of the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied forces attempted unsuccessfully to defend the islands. The East Indies were targeted by the Japanese for their rich oil resources which would become a vital asset during the war. The campaign and subsequent three-and-a-half-year Japanese occupation was also a major factor in the end of Dutch colonial rule in the region.

The Republic of Indonesia, a country located in Southeast Asia has three time zones. Western Indonesia Time (Waktu Indonesia Barat, WIB) is seven hours ahead (UTC+07:00) of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), used in the islands of Sumatra, Java, and the western half of Kalimantan. Central Indonesia Time (Waktu Indonesia Tengah, WITA) is eight hours ahead (UTC+08:00), used in the eastern half of Kalimantan, as well as all of Bali, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and Sulawesi. Eastern Indonesia Time (Waktu Indonesia Timur, WIT) is nine hours ahead (UTC+09:00), used in the Maluku Islands and Western New Guinea. About 80% of the Indonesian population live in WIB (UTC+07:00).

In 1908, during the Dutch East Indies colonial era, only Java and the Madura Island were initially given time until 1932, when the government utilised UTC+06:30 up to +09:30. In between those changes in 1918, Central Java (UTC+07:20, now defunct) was the basis for time in select locations: for instance, Padang was 7 minutes behind Central Java. The Japanese occupation of the Indies prompted the simplification of time in Indonesia to just UTC+09:00, also known as the Japan Standard Time. The Dutch reoccupied the country following its 1945 independence with UTC+06:00 up to +09:00 established, but it was reverted to the 1932 system after they recognised Indonesia's sovereignty. The current time zone division is a 1988 revision of a 1964 division, with Bali, West Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan changing sides. Without any significant season changes, the daylight saving time system is not observed anywhere in Indonesia, as is other Southeast Asian countries.

The 1945 Constitution of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945, lit. 'Basic Law of State of the Republic of Indonesia Year 1945', commonly abbreviated as UUD 1945 or UUD '45) is the supreme law and basis for all laws of Indonesia.

The constitution was written in June–August 1945, in the final months of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies at the end of World War II. It was abrogated by the Federal Constitution of 1949 and the Provisional Constitution of 1950, but restored by President Sukarno's 1959 Decree.

Sudirman (Old Spelling: Soedirman; 24 January 1916 – 29 January 1950) was an Indonesian military officer and revolutionary during the Indonesian National Revolution and the first commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.

Born in Purbalingga, Dutch East Indies, Sudirman moved to Cilacap in 1916 and was raised by his uncle. A diligent student at a Muhammadiyah-run school, he became respected within the community for his devotion to Islam. After dropping out of teacher's college, in 1936 he began working as a teacher, and later headmaster, at a Muhammadiyah-run elementary school. After the Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942, Sudirman continued to teach, before joining the Japanese-sponsored Defenders of the Homeland (PETA) as a battalion commander in Banyumas in 1944. In this position he put down a rebellion by his fellow soldiers, but was later interned in Bogor. After Indonesia proclaimed its independence on 17 August 1945, Sudirman led a break-out then went to Jakarta to meet President Sukarno. Tasked with overseeing the surrender of Japanese soldiers in Banyumas, he established a Division of the People's Safety Body there. On 12 November 1945, at an election to decide the military's commander-in-chief in Yogyakarta, Sudirman was chosen over Oerip Soemohardjo in a Close vote. While waiting to be confirmed, Sudirman ordered an assault on British and Dutch forces in Ambarawa. The ensuing battle and British withdrawal strengthened Sudirman's popular support, and he was ultimately confirmed on 18 December.

UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00.

During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time with Tokyo until the fall of the Empire of Japan.

Rōmusha (労務者) (compare corvée), is a Japanese language word for a "paid conscripted laborer." In English, it usually refers to non-Japanese who were forced to work for the Japanese military during World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between 4 and 10 million rōmushas were forced to work (often at low pay) by the Japanese military during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II, many of whom experienced harsh conditions and either died or were stranded far from home. With the term imprecisely defined by both the Japanese and the Allies, estimates of the total number of rōmushas may include the kinrōhōshi (English: unpaid forced laborers), native auxiliary forces (such as troops of the Japanese-allied Indonesian volunteer army Pembela Tanah Air (PETA)), and voluntary transmigrants to other islands in Indonesia.