As far as the Phillipines is concerned, the Peso was actually in use during the US colonial era as well. Practically speaking, before the digital age, it was impractical to ship currency across the ocean just to provide the money supply for a colony or another country; better to have the local authorities manage it locally so that they can respond to local economic situations in a timely fashion. While by 1939 speed of travel is no longer an issue, reliability of wartime travel is, so the Japanese have to rely on the local mint to issue currency.
Right, and it's really interesting to speculate on these kinds of matters. I've spent a little bit of time looking into it and can't find a definitive story behind the decisions made. Other Japanese occupied territories ended up with a local Yen-type. For example, Korea [1] and Taiwan [2] both had a locally produced Yen. Why not the Philippines?
It's an interesting thought experiment to think about how urgent the Japanese government felt that local currency was to their territories that almost immediately they had new currency designed, plates engraved and money printed, maybe even on existing local equipment! Why not just print "Yen"?
As to shipping hard currency during War Time, I also have a small collection of U.S. Military "Milk Caps" (Pogs) which were issued as coinage/change on Wartime bases in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of coinage. I've heard it was because the cost of shipping in and out enough coins to support the local on-base economies was simply too high and was better used shipping in and out other things. [3][4]
2. You don't/cant educate people timely on a new money. Peso is peso in Philippines, the time period, shy of 40 years Philippines went from Spain, American to Japanese Custodianship. Too many changes == not accepted.
3. Local printing, typetext and fonts. It isn't like today where you can use comic sans immediately and change it in post. It used to all be done by hand in a printing press.
If you ever have a chance to visit the Philippines, I highly suggest looking for pesos. :) I found so many, and all the locals I talk to don't know the story or history, most don't really know their history at all...
But +1 on infrastructure projects and such. Philippines also reissued the pesos coins, and they, suck, the 1 and 5 peso coin are similar in diameter and size, there is no color difference as previous currency it was gold color and silver color (not metals), and for a while, people were confused which were which -- getting change means you'd get 15 pesos back instead of 3!
Also, they are now following the ASEAN style of design with flowers and local "treasures" on the coins. The locals I talk with didn't really know there was a national plant -- always fun!
Korea and Taiwan were both integral parts of the Japanese Empire before WWWII. Their conquest pre-dated the outlawing of conquest and annexation in international law, when France and the USA decided they’d conquered enough of the world and no one else should be allowed to do so [1]. Taiwan had been Japanese since 1895 or so and Korea 1910. I’m sure if the Japanese had been in charge of the Philippines for more than a decade they’d have introduced Filipino yen too. But there was never a period when the Philippines was part of the Empire of Japan under civilian administration.
>when France and the USA decided they’d conquered enough of the world and no one else should be allowed to do so
Your snark seems misplaced, for the US at least. They had an isolationist policy at the time, and no empire. I also wonder where Britain fits into this. They seem to have signed with everyone else. But with the largest empire I would have expected them to have a seat at the table.
The Philippines (1898), Hawaii (also 1898), Cuba (1898, not annexed but Platt Amendment allowed US free reign to intervene in Cuban affairs. The Panama Canal Zone was an unincorporated territory of the US from 1903 to 1977 and it’s separation from Colombia was accomplished with US warships.
Also, the fact that the US settled the territory it conquered and integrated it into the metrople does not change the fact that it conquered it any more than the fact that Russia did that in Central Asia or Siberia does, or France in Algeria.
Hadn't the US agreed to give the Philippines independence by that point? And Panama a case of picking the friendly side?
Not that I necessarily disagree with you but these are 30 years prior, and not exactly an empire compared to European ambitions. The US seems a poor target to beat with the 'empire' stick.
