rōmusha

thumb|Romusha commemorative image on the public board of Indonesian independence in 1985 (compare corvée), is a Japanese language word for a "paid conscripted laborer." In English, it usually refers to non-Japanese who were forced to work for the Japanese military during World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between 4 and 10 million rōmushas were forced to work (often at low pay) by the Japanese military during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II, many of whom experienced harsh conditions and either died or were stranded far from home. With the term imprecisely defined by both the Japanese and the Allies, estimates of the total number of rōmushas may include the kinrōhōshi (English: unpaid forced laborers), native auxiliary forces (such as troops of the Japanese-allied Indonesian volunteer army Pembela Tanah Air (PETA)), and voluntary transmigrants to other islands in Indonesia.

==Overview== thumb|Monument in memory of the Rōmusha who died in Banten. The rōmusha were unpaid conscripted laborers, mobilized in Sumatra and eastern Indonesia as well as Java. Some ten percent were women. Their tenures of service ranged from one day to the time required to complete a specific project. The types of work required were very diverse, ranging from light housekeeping work to heavy construction. As a general rule, the rōmusha were mobilized within each regency and were able to walk to work from home. However, for very large construction projects, the rōmusha could be sent to other regencies. When their specified period was finished, they were returned home and replaced with new workers. However, many were sent away from Indonesia to other Japanese-held areas in Southeast Asia.