Japanese occupation of British Borneo

Japanese-occupied British Borneo (British North Borneo, Brunei, Labuan and Sarawak)
北ボルネオBoruneo Kita
Military occupation by the Empire of Japan
1941–1945
National flag Imperial Japanese Army war flag
Japanese possessions in British Borneo, including Dutch Borneo in 1943.
Capital		Kuching
Government		Military occupation
Historical era		World War II
•	Pacific War begins	8 December 1941
•	Japanese troops land on Miri	15 December 1941
•	British troops surrender	1 April 1942
•	Surrender of Japan	15 August 1945
•	British Military Administration set up	12 September 1945
•	Return to pre-war administrative position	1 April 1946
Currency		Japanese-issued dollar ("Banana money")
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Sarawak Brunei North Borneo Crown Colony of Labuan British Military Administration (Borneo)
Today part of		Malaysia  Brunei

At the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories: four in the north under the British – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan (island), and British North Borneo (now Sabah); and the remainder and bulk of the island to the south under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Because of its oil resources, Borneo was a prime target for Japan, and a very poorly guarded one. Chronically short of natural resources, Japan needed an assured supply, particularly of oil, in order to achieve its long-term goal of becoming the major power in the Pacific region.

In 1941, the Americans and British had placed an embargo on exports of raw materials to Japan because of its continuing aggression in China. Borneo was strategically important to Japan as it is located on the main sea routes between Java, Sumatra, Malaya and Celebes. Control of these routes was vital to securing the territory.

The Japanese invasion plan called for the British territories to be taken and held by the Imperial Japanese Army and the southern Dutch territory to be taken and held by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The IJA unit that invaded northern Borneo was the 35th Infantry Brigade, known as the Kawaguchi Detachment. The Brigade was led by Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi and consisted of units previously stationed at Canton, southern China.

On 13 December 1941, the Japanese invasion convoy left Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina, with an escort of the cruiser Yura (Rear-Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto), the destroyers of the 12th Destroyer Division, Murakumo, Shinonome, Shirakumo and Usugumo, submarine-chaser Ch 7 and the aircraft depot ship Kamikawa Maru. Ten transport ships carried the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade HQ under the command of Major-General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Support Force—commanded by Rear-Admiral Takeo Kurita—consisted of the cruisers Kumano and Suzuya and the destroyers Fubuki and Sagiri.