Japanese government-issued currency in the Dutch East Indies From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia History Background In December 1941, the Empire of Japan began its assault on British Borneo ; by January 1942 its armies had begun to attack those parts of the island which were part of the Dutch East Indies . This was followed by attacks on Sumatra and Java in February. Ultimately, the Dutch colonial government capitulated on 8 March 1942, though pockets of resistance lasted for several months. [1] In the succeeding months, the Japanese government closed the existing banks, seized existing assets and currency, and assumed control of the Indies' economy. [2] Java was left under the administration of the Sixteenth Army , Sumatra under the Twenty-Fifth Army , and the remainder of the archipelago under the Japanese Navy . [3] This administrative division meant that some notes were highly localized. For instance, the 100 and 1000 gulden notes, with a design si...