Japanese government–issued dollar in Malaya and Borneo
The Japanese government-issued dollar was a form of currency issued for use within the Imperial Japan-occupied territories of Singapore, Malaya, [Japanese occupation of British Borneo|North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei] between 1942 and 1945. The currency was also referred to informally as banana money, named as such because of the motifs of banana trees on 10 dollar banknotes. The Japanese dollar was in widespread use within the occupied territories where the previous currency became scarce. The currency were referred to as "dollars" and "cents" like its predecessors, the Straits dollar, Malayan dollar, Sarawak dollar and British [North Borneo dollar].
The Japanese dollar was one of several forms of Japanese invasion money issued throughout the newly expanded Empire of Japan. Similar currencies were issued in Burma, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines and various Melanesian and Polynesian territories.
History
Following the fall of Singapore into the hands of Imperial Japan on 15 February 1942, the Japanese introduced new currencies to replace those previously in use in the occupied territories of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei. The new currency in Malaya and Singapore were issued with the same value as the Malayan dollar, and first entered circulation in 1942. As with other currencies issued by Japan in occupied territories, local residents were forced to adopt the new currency, although existing coins were allowed to circulate until a shortage of coins required the Japanese administration to issue notes instead. Although new coins, bearing the name "Malaysia" and dated under the Japanese calendar, were planned for the region by the Osaka Mint, they never made it past the concept stage and only a few rare patterns exist.To supply the authorities with money whenever they required it, the Japanese simply printed more notes. This resulted in hyperinflation and a severe depreciation in value of the banana note. Moreover, counterfeiting was rampant due to the absence of a serial number on many notes. Increasing inflation, coupled with Allied disruption of Japan's economy, forced the Japanese administration to issue banknotes in larger denominations, and increase the amount of money in circulation. Sharp drops in the currency's value and increased price of goods frequently occurred following a Japanese defeat in battle abroad.
File:Old Ford Motor Factory 10, Mar 07.JPG|thumb|200px|Different denominations of the banana money on display at Old [Ford Motor Factory|Memories at Old Ford Factory], Singapore. As banana money was rendered worthless immediately after World War II, banana money notes are now either museum exhibits or collector's items.
After the surrender of Japan, the currency became entirely worthless, and to this day the Japanese government has refused to exchange these currencies. Some locals managed to escape poverty because they had hidden Straits dollars and Malayan dollars, the currencies in use before the Japanese invaded. Those with hidden stashes of the old dollars were able to use them the moment the British resumed control of Singapore and surrounding colonies, when they became valid again. A number of surviving occupation banknotes were stamped as war souvenirs, while their use as printing paper for rudimentary calendars for 1946 was also recorded. When these notes became obsolete, punch holes were made in the notes to indicate they had been "cancelled" and stripped of redeemable value.
The present value of the currency as a collector's item remains mixed depending on their condition, the presence of serial numbers, the use of woven paper, and their use as specimens. Common notes lacking serial numbers are still worth below their printed value, while rarer versions are worth slightly over or several times their printed value. Notes stamped as war souvenirs are currently rare, while notes with 1946 calendar overprints fetch about RM3,000.
Ten dollar-sized leaflets reprinting the ten dollar note's obverse were also air-dropped by British air forces during the Japanese occupation as a warning to the population of the potential worthlessness of the currency in the event of Japanese defeat. Fear among the population of possessing the leaflet led to their rarity and present high value.