Japanese occupation of Cambodia
| Kingdom of Cambodia | ||||||||||
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Protectorate of Vichy France under Japanese military control (1941–1945) Constituent territory of French Indochina (1941–1945) Client state of Japan (1945) |
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| Capital | Phnom Penh | |||||||||
| Government | Client state | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 1941-1945 | Norodom Sihanouk | ||||||||
| Historical era | World War II | |||||||||
| • | Established | 1941 | ||||||||
| • | Japanese invades French occupied Cambodia | August 1941 | ||||||||
| • | Coup de force | February 1945 | ||||||||
| • | Surrender of Japan | 15 August 1945 | ||||||||
| • | Reestablishment of French authority in Cambodia |
October 1945 |
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| • | Disestablished | 1945 | ||||||||
| Currency | Cambodian riel | |||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Cambodia
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The Japanese occupation of Cambodia was the period of Cambodian history during World War II when the Kingdom of Cambodia was occupied by the Japanese although officially the French protectorate over Cambodia remained through Vichy France until 1945 when Cambodia became an officially independent state with a Japanese military presence there.
The Japanese occupation in Cambodia lasted between 1941 and 1945 and, in general, the Cambodian population escaped the brutalities inflicted on civilians by the Japanese occupiers in other countries of Southeast Asia. Even though initially allowing the Vichy French Indochina colonial government to remain nominally in charge, in 1945 the Japanese authorities in Cambodia ended up establishing a pro-Tokyo puppet state.
The 1940–41 Franco-Thai War left the French Indochinese colonial authorities in a position of weakness. The Vichy government signed an agreement with Japan to allow the Japanese military transit through French Indochina and to station troops in Northern Vietnam up to a limit of 25,000 men.
Meanwhile, the Thai government, under the pro-Japanese leadership of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, and strengthened by virtue of its treaty of friendship with Japan, took advantage of the weakened position of France, and invaded Cambodia's western provinces to which it had historic claims. Following this invasion, Tokyo hosted the signature of a treaty in March 1941 that formally compelled the French to relinquish the provinces of Battambang, Siem Reap, Koh Kong as well as a narrow extension of land between the 15th parallel and the Dangrek Mountains in Stung Treng Province.
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