I've always thought that the claims made on Japan because of the occupation of Dutch East Indies a bit peculiar, to say the least. Lambert Giebels, a Dutch historian, also reached the conclusion that these claims were unjustified. First of all, the war was declared by the Dutch authorities of D.E.I. It follows from there that the subsequent war, Dutch surrender and even the internment of citizens were acts in accordance with the law of war. After the war the Japanese paid 10 million dollars US to the Dutch government in compensation.
Secondly, D.E.I., present day Indonesia, was a Dutch colony and involuntarily so. Although we have been told stories about the blessings Dutch rule has brought to the natives of the "Emerald Belt" as the Indonesian islands were poetically called, the facts of their conquest and the price the natives paid for Dutch rule are talked about in very general terms, if at all during the history lessons I've received in school.
Dutch rule was responsible for a structural undernourishment among Javanese farmers that lasted for decades on the isle Java due to the so-called 'cultures policy'. The latter compelled the Javanese farmers to grow indigo, tea and sugar for the sake of the Dutch economy instead of rice and so causing a long lasting situation of under nourishment among the population. We can only guess what the consequences must have been for the Javanese.
The Dutch territorial claims to Bali and Sumatra caused the extermination of the Balinese royal families and a war in Aceh that cost many, many lives, among them hundreds of thousands of forced (native) laborers working for the Dutch army. That war shows many similarities with the Vietnam and the present-day Irak wars and lasted from the end of the 19th century until the Japanese invasion.
The laborers on the tobacco plantations of Sumatra were virtual slaves and had to live and work under inhuman conditions subject to the whims of whomever was put over them. A report on treatment of the laborers has been buried very deeply in the national archives and until today is very hard to get permission to read it.
The mortality rate of the forced (Indonesian) laborers was on the average higher than that of the forced laborers under the Japanese military.
Of course unsavory things happened under Japanese military rule: the kempei, for instance, were pretty heavy-handed with the people that drew their attention and the internment of civilians was badly organized resulting in much suffering; and of course there were the occasional rape and summary executions. As for certain internment camps in Java criminal intent could be proven. That having said, there is a distinct tendency among certain groups to exaggerate and they even make up stories about the Japanese occupation of D.E.I.
As for atonement and apologies, let it be noted that, compared to other places, a remarkable high percentage of Japanese were executed after the war by the Dutch. This is more indicative for the vindictiveness of the Dutch than justice.
It could hardly be denied that IMTFE (Tokyo tribunal) has all the characteristics of a kangaroo court. The case of general Yamashita is an example of that.
And the Japanese have apologized over and over again. So how many apologies do we need?
It is true that the Japanese armed forces were responsible for many atrocities, notably in China and Korea, but on balance it is fair to say that those were no different than the atrocities for which all major imperialistic and colonial powers, including the Netherlands, are responsible. And I think it is also fair to say the Japanese have already paid a heavy price for their misdeeds: Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
I do think, however, that the Japanese government should take responsibility for and compensate the still living 'comfort women'. But then again the Dutch government is still to pay and/or help the Eurasians who have fought and suffered for them and who where abandoned in abysmal circumstances when the Dutch lost their colony.
