Screening and compensation

―How to visualize their memories in Singapore―

Abstract

　We can easily find the Civilian War Memorial in Singapore city center. The Japanese army occupied Singapore, massacred hostile 50,000 Chinese during World War II. The systematic purge usually called Sook Ching or Mass Screening. In 1962, remains belonging to the victims of the Sook Ching were unearthed. In 1967, the Civilian War Memorial was built in memory of all the civilians killed during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. Following the rise of protest campaign by Singapore citizens, Japan signed a quasi-reparation agreement with Singapore in the same year, but it did not officially acknowledge war responsibility. The Civilian War Memorial is a symbol of the multi ethnic state Singapore, Japan still can’t understand it correctly nor face it directly.