Endau Settlement

In September 1943, truckloads of people, the first migrants, from Singapore were the first joyful settlers of Endau, or New Syonan.
During the Japanese Occupation, Singapore's trade with other countries was disrupted because of war. As a large portion of Singapores food supply was imported, this put a strain on the food supply for the islands one million population. To solve the food shortage problem, the Japanese authorities promoted the Grow More Food Campaign and encouraged the population to become self-sufficient by growing their own food. In August 1943, the Japanese decided to evacuate about 300,000 Singaporeans and to resettle them north of Singapore to cultivate the land there.
The responsibility for carrying out the project was placed on Mamoru Shinozaki, Head of Welfare Department in the Syonan Municipality, who in turn approached the Overseas Chinese Association (OCA) to build a settlement for Chinese migrants. Shinozaki persuaded the OCA to agree to the project by promising that the new settlement would be self-governing and that no Japanese would set foot in the settlement. In addition, the settlement was assured of rice supply until it became self-sufficient. A New Syonan Model Farm Construction Committee was then set up under the chairmanship of Lim Boon Keng. A team was dispatched to Malaya to look for a suitable site and after some survey Endau in Johore was selected as the site for the new settlement.
The first migrants had to live in crude huts made of opeh leaves until the administration allocated land for them to build their own houses. The pioneering work was challenging to many, as they did not have construction or farming experience. They had to be resourceful and learned to make necessity items such as soap, coconut oil, and condensed milk.
However, the settlement began to develop. Restaurants and schools were set up, a branch of Overseas Chinese Banking Cooperation was opened, streets were named after officials and shops sold vegetables grown by the settlers.
However, life at the settlement was disturbed by activities of Chinese anti-Japanese guerillas, which claimed the lives of several settlement officials and civilians. Peace was only restored after Shinozaki entered into a secret pact with the guerillas, offering rice in exchange for peace.
Byt the end of 1943, there were more than 12,000 people living in Endau.
Another settlement was also set up in Bahau, Negri Sembilan. Called Fuji Village, the place was populated with namely Eurasians. However, poor land and disease doomed the project.