INTRODUCTION
The Japanese
Imperial Forces entered Manila on January 2, 1942. Postal
service was temporarily suspended until full instructions were laid
down for its reopening. Rules and regulations were formulated
and implemented by the Department of Public Works and
Communications, including the renaming of the Bureau of Posts to
Bureau of Communications.
On March 4, 1942,
the postal service was formally reopened at Manila Central Post
Office. Two stamps and a postal card were issued.
Remaining stocks from the Commonwealth were overprinted with black
bars deleting the words “United States of America” and “Commonwealth
of the”. This practice continued until the new administration
was able to print its own stamps and postal stationery.
In the beginning,
postal service was limited to the Greater Manila area, comprising
of: Manila, Caloocan, Makati, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon
and San Juan del Monte
Provincial post offices
were reopened as situations in each area stabilized. All mail was
subjected to censorship until June 30, 1943.
Under the Japanese
Administration, the Philippines issued its first souvenir sheet and
semi-postal stamps. Also, stamps and postal cards printed in
Japan with Japanese inscriptions were issued.
Postal service
officially ended in Manila on February 3, 1945, when the American
Military Forces liberated Manila.
Reopening of
Railway Line between Manila and San Fernando, Pampanga. (This
train leaves Tutuban Station with Japanese Railway Corps aboard,
joyfully celebrating the completion of the reconstruction work on
this line.) February 15, 1942. (From The Official
Journal of the Japanese Military Administration, Vol. 1, 1942)
