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is a Japanese language word for "laborer", but has come to specifically denote forced laborers during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between four to 10 million ''rōmusha'' were forced to work by the Japanese military,〔(Library of Congress, 1992, "Indonesia: World War II and the Struggle For Independence, 1942-50; The Japanese Occupation, 1942-45" ) Access date: February 9, 2007〕 many of whom toiled under harsh conditions and either died or were stranded far from home. However, the term was not closely defined by either the Japanese or the Allies and the numbers stated sometimes encompasses both the '' kinrōhōshi '' unpaid laborers, as well as native auxiliary forces, such as troops of the PETA and voluntary transmigrants to other islands in Indonesia.〔Post, '' The Encyclopedia of Indonesia in the Pacific War '', pages 505, 578-579;〕 The ''rōmusha'' were paid conscripted laborers, mobilized in Sumatra and eastern Indonesia as well as Java. Some ten percent were women.〔 Their tenures of service ranged from one day to the time required to complete a specific project. The types of work required were very diverse, ranging from light housekeeping work to heavy construction. As a general rule, the ''rōmusha'' were mobilized within each regency and were able to walk to work from home. However, for very large construction projects, the ''rōmusha'' could be sent to other regencies. When their specified period was up, they were returned home and replaced with new workers.〔 However, some were sent away from Indonesia to other parts other Japanese-held areas in South East Asia. There included some 270,000 Javanese laborers, of whom only 52,000 were repatriated to Java meaning that there was a death rate of 80%. The practice of unpaid Corvée labor had been common during colonial period Netherlands East Indies. Although the fact that ''rōmusha'' were paid was an improvement, their wages failed to keep pace with inflation, and they were often forced to work under hazardous conditions with inadequate food, shelter or medical case. The general Japanese treatment of laborers was very bad. The ''rōmusha'' were supplemented by true unpaid laborers, the ''kinrōhōshi'', who performed mostly menial labor. The ''kinrōhōshi'' were recruited for a shorter duration than the ''rōmusha'' via ''tonarigumi'' neighborhood associations and were theoretically voluntary, although considerable social coercion was applied to "volunteer" as a show of loyalty to the Japanese cause. In 1944, the number of '' kinrōhōshi '' in Java was around 200,000 people.〔 The brutality of the Romusha and other forced labor systems was a key reason for the mass death rates among Indonesians under the Japanese occupation. A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of the Japanese occupation.〔Cited in: Dower, John W. ''War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War'' (1986; Pantheon; ISBN 0-394-75172-8).〕 About 2.4 million people died in Java from famine during 1944–45.〔Van der Eng, Pierre (2008) 'Food Supply in Java during War and Decolonisation, 1940–1950.' ''MPRA Paper No. 8852.'' pp. 35–38. http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/8852/〕 From 1944, PETA also made use of thousands of ''rōmusha'' for the construction of military facilities, and in economic projects to help make Java more self-supporting in face of Allied blockades.〔 The Japanese military made very extensive use of such forced labor during the construction of the Burma-Thailand Railway during 1942–43 and the Pakan Baroe Railway on Sumatra in 1943–45. The death rate among ''rōmusha'', from atrocities, starvation diet, and disease far outstripped the death rate among Allied prisoners of war. About half the forced laborers engaged on the railroad construction died. ==Footnotes== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Romusha」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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