Indonesia Dutch Ethical Policy that was aimed at improving living conditions and welfare, expanding education to native peoples, and preparing the archipelago for self-government under Dutch control. The policy, however, inadvertently contributed to the Indonesian National Awakening, and subsequent rise of independence movements, which the Dutch actively suppressed. During World War II, the Empire of Japan invaded and occupied the archipelago, effectively ending Dutch rule. Famine and forced labour ("romusha") were common during the occupation, and war crimes were committed in areas that were deemed important for the Japanese war effort. A later United Nations report stated that the Japanese occupation
Constitution of Indonesia powers. The governmental system has been described as "presidential with parliamentary characteristics." Following the Indonesian 1998 Upheaval and the resignation of President Suharto, several political reforms were set in motion, via amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia, which resulted in changes to all branches of government as well as additional human rights provisions. The Japanese invaded the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) in 1942, defeated the Dutch colonial regime, and occupied it for the duration of the Second World War. Indonesia then fell under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army ("Nanpo Gun"), based in Saigon, Vietnam. The Japanese divided