The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (Indonesian: Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (PPKI)) was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of authority from the occupying Japanese to Indonesia. Permission for the formation of the committee came from Lt. General Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Japanese Southern Area who was based in Saigon.
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Membership
Most of the 21 committee members belonged to the older generation. Its appointed members included representatives from Java and the outer islands in approximate relation to population. The membership comprised:
Added later
There were 6 (six) additional committee members added without the approval of Japan authority in Indonesia:
Indonesian independence
On 9 August, the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese authorities, who were occupying Indonesia, flew future leaders Sukarno and Hatta to Da Lat, French Indochina for a meeting with General Hisaichi Terauchi, the commander of the Southern Area. He promised Indonesian independence would be granted on 24 August, and appointed Sukarno chairman of the PPKI. The first meeting was planned for 18 August, the second 19 August. The men flew back to Indonesia, arriving on 14 August.
The Indonesian underground rejected any independence gifted by the Japanese, preferring to win it through force of arms. However, two days after the Japanese surrender, Sukarno declared independence on 17 August 1945.