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Setting aside historic relations with regional neighbours Thailand and Vietnam, colonialism in Laos is exclusively associated, at least in most peoples' minds, with France. The French assumed control of Laos in 1893, and withdrew in 1953 when that country attained full independence. Voila! – there you have it – and yet not quite. For between March, 1945, and Tokyo's final surrender in September of the same year, Japan directly administered Laos in what has become a fascinating but forgotten historical footnote.

In September, 1941, three months before Pearl Harbour and the general outbreak of war in the Pacific, Japanese forces took advantage of France's defeat in Europe to establish a presence in French Indochina. Admiral Decoux, the Vichy administrator of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, avoided outright Japanese occupation by agreeing not to oppose Tokyo's war plans and by putting the economic resources of Indochina at the disposal of the Japanese.

Over the next three years the Japanese military maintained a low profile in Indochina, though the Kempetei (Japanese Military Police) operated a network of informants throughout the country, maintaining surveillance of French troops and promoting contacts with local – especially Vietnamese – nationalists. This period of joint administration saved forty thousand French nationals in Indochina from internment in Japanese concentration camps for at least three years. However it also contributed substantially to the Japanese conquest of Malaya and Indonesia, and to the delay of ultimate Allied victory in the Far East.

The arrangement humiliated the French, who chafed under their unwelcome "alliance" with Japan. This feeling became almost unbearable following the liberation of France in 1944. A Free French officer based in Kunming, General Mordant, was secretly appointed by General De Gaulle to replace the pro-Vichy Decoux, and clandestine plans were made to move French military units from the cities to the hills in preparation for a war to restore French sovereignty.

Unfortunately for the French, caught up in the wild optimism of Allied triumph in Europe and impending victory in Asia, the Japanese realised what was afoot and moved to strike first. From early 1945 they increased their troop concentrations in Indochina, including the establishment of garrisons at Savannakhet in January and at Sieng Khwang in February. On 9 March the Japanese ambassador in Saigon presented an ultimatum to Admiral Decoux demanding control over all military, administrative and financial affairs throughout Indochina.

When Decoux refused, the Japanese immediately mounted their long-prepared Operation Ma-Go for the seizure of Indochina. As part of this action Japanese troops attacked French garrisons in Laos on 9 March, arresting French officials and taking over the administration. Savannakhet and Khammuan were the first towns to fall, followed in quick succession by Pakse and Vientiane a day later. The French, assisted by Lao partisans, fought fiercely in places, as did the Hmong of Sieng Khwang, yet despite these actions organised resistance was soon crushed.

Japanese treatment of the defeated French was predictably harsh. For example, at Khammuan – then known as Thakhaek – forty-seven French civilians were killed in a single massacre. Captured French were displayed to the Lao in an apparent bid to awaken a sense of shared Asian hostility to the Europeans.

Thus, in the market at Ban Ban, local Lao and Hmong were startled to see a group of Frenchmen "dirty and staggering", apparently being driven by the Japanese. As they neared it became apparent that the Japanese had run strings through their nostrils and were driving them like buffaloes. Blood spurted from their noses as the Japanese jerked them from side to side whilst shouting to the Hmong onlookers. "Their noses are too long! See this, we are showing you these French who are not humans. They are only ghosts and they can't control this country."

The new rulers of Laos faced considerable problems in setting up an administration. Sako Masanori, the Japanese commander who had occupied Vientiane, records that he had no specific orders from Tokyo on how this was to be effected. Accordingly he improvised, dismissing and detaining all French officials except for the Mayor of Vientiane and the Commissioner of Police, who were delegated to act as intermediaries between the victorious Japanese and the defeated French community.

By contrast, Sako made attempts to win over the indigenous population, who were naturally suspicious of Japanese intentions. On April 8, he addressed the assembled people of Vientiane from the steps of the Palace of the Résident Superieur – now the Museum of the Revolution – in the following words:

“As from now, I take it upon myself to assume the functions of the French Résident Superieur. Japan's purpose is not to occupy Laos. Japanese are your comrades and are sympathetic to your plight. We are at the same time both Buddhists and yellow peoples. Let us cooperate to achieve independence for Laos.”

Sako notes, however, that he was not sure whether his audience understood his words, or if they did, whether they believed them. In any event, the former colonial taxation office was sequestered, and a sign was posted announcing its new function as the Laosu Dokuritsu Junbi Jimusho, or "Office for the Preparation of Lao Independence".

Sako made other moves which conflicted with the Imperial Japanese norm and which were clearly designed to promote continuity and reassure the Lao population. Firstly, he announced the retention of the French Indochinese piastre as the national currency; he then ordered the reopening of schools, adding that it was permitted to continue using the established French curriculum. Finally, he encouraged a group of young Lao nationalists including the future prime minister Katay Don Sasorith to start a newspaper called Lao Chaleun, or "Developing Laos".

The Japanese also attempted to court Lao public opinion in their dealings with King Sisavangvong. In the immediate aftermath of Japan's coup de force, the royal family had stayed in Luang Prabang but refused to acknowledge Japan's action. Instead Crown Prince Savang, in the name of his father, proclaimed the loyalty of the throne and of the people of Luang Prabang to France. On 16 March he called for a general rising of partisans against the Japanese and ordered severe penalties for anyone refusing to help the French.

The Japanese responded by occupying Luang Prabang in early April. General Tsuchibashi, Saigon-based commander of the Japanese 38th Army, sent a message to King Sisavangvong formally announcing the French defeat and inviting him to make a declaration of Lao independence. Either under duress, or through a realistic interpretation of the turn of events, the king finally agreed and on 8 April announced that:

“From this day forward, our Kingdom of Laos, formerly a colony of France, is now an independent nation... and will join with neighbouring countries to build prosperity and progress following the principles of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere.”

In the meantime, however, and with the full agreement of the king, French and Lao troops in upper Laos, together with the royal Lao governors of Muang Kasi and Nam Tha, had managed to withdraw safely to southern China.

Japan's administration of Laos was hampered by lack of direct instructions from Tokyo and characterised by lack of co-ordination between Sako in Vientiane, who was attached to the Japanese 38th Division in Bangkok, and his immediate superior, Ishibashi, who was transferred to Luang Prabang from Tonkin and answered to the 21st Division in Hanoi. Ishibashi basically left the administration to the Lao bureaucrats of the former regime. Prince Phetsarath continued to serve as Prime Minister, whilst his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma took charge of public works. Katay Don Sasorith, the editor of Lao Chaleun, was placed in charge of the economy.

During the few brief months between the establishment of the new regime in Laos and the end of the war, Japan's writ was, by and large, limited to the vicinity of the main towns. A garrison of 200 troops was maintained in Luang Prabang, some revenue was raised by the sale of opium [Sako subsequently claimed that the entire cost of Operation Ma-Go was funded by the proceeds of opium sales], and work was started on a new road designed to link Hua Phan with Pak San. The Japanese tried to encourage the growth of Lao nationalism, but found this to be more easily directed against the Vietnamese than the French.

In any event, time was not on Japan's side. In August, 1945, troops of the Kuomintang 93rd Army under General Sing Sung-chao moved into northern Laos from Yunnan, even as Japan reeled under the impact of the atomic bomb. A few days later, in mid-August, a group of Hmong guerrillas were maintaining surveillance of a military encampment in Sieng Khwang. The Japanese soldiers ate their lunch and listened to the radio. Then the Hmong watched in bewildered incomprehension as:

“Suddenly the senior officer stopped eating, reached for a knife, and committed seppuku. Other officers – about 50 of them – grouped themselves into small circles, placed hand grenades in their arm pits, and pulled the pins.”

It was August 15, and in the first public speech ever made by a Japanese sovereign, Emperor Hirohito had announced his country's surrender. Badly shaken, the Hmong withdrew in confusion from the bloody scene.

Over the next few months Laos passed through a period of chaos, as KMT, Lao, Viet Minh and Free French forces struggled to assert their control. In the event, French colonial administration was not re-established in Vientiane until April, 1946. On 13 May Luang Prabang was occupied, and King Sisavangvong reaffirmed his links with France, bringing the short period of Japanese-sponsored "independence" to an end.

In retrospect, Japan's brief administration of Laos during 1945 played a historic role in nurturing the Lao independence movement. It is true that no charter of independence was drawn up, and no Lao leaders were invited to Tokyo in the way that Burmese, Indonesians, and even Cambodians had been. Yet by forcing a period of independence on Laos, however brief, the Japanese at least put the issue of future Lao independence firmly on the political agenda.

Text by Andrew Forbes; Photos by Pictures From History - © CPA Media