1 Gulden Japanese Occupation

Japan issued occupation currency for the Dutch East Indies almost immediately after the invasion began in early 1942, with these guilder-denominated notes deliberately mirroring the colonial monetary system to ease acceptance among a population that had used Netherlands Indies guilders for decades. The choice to denominate in guilders rather than yen was pragmatic — it sidestepped the need to establish exchange rates at the point of transaction.

The notes carried no issuing bank name, only "De Japansche Regeering" — the Japanese Government — a bluntness unusual for occupation currency, which more typically invents a plausible-sounding local bank. Postwar redemption was denied, leaving enormous quantities worthless overnight in August 1945.