Photo (above) Japanese soldiers bayoneting the executed victims of the massacre to ensure that they are really dead.
The Sook Ching massacre took place three days after the fall of Singapore to the Japanese forces on 15 February 1942. It was a sixteen days campaign launched by the Japanese army to eliminate all anti-Japanese elements in the country. Many of those who were tortured and killed were ethnic Chinese who were loyal to the British or had connections to China's anti-Japanese movement (both enemies of Japan). The Japanese also routinely eliminated gang members and troublemakers in the process. In the later stage, even women and children were not spared from the Sook Ching campaign.
It is unclear as to how many people have died from this atrocity as there is a lack of accurate records. Official Japanese figures show that there are around 5,000 people killed, while the Singapore Chinese Community figures shows a shocking total of 100,000.
Till today, no official apology was made by Japan over their atrocities committed in Asia.
Click on the link below to watch a documentary about the Fall of Singapore and the Sook Ching massacre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRS51StHJGY&noredirect=1
Photo resource: National Archives of Singapore
ACTIVITY
Do you think the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes committed in Asia, given the fact that the war took place 70 years ago? Why?
Write your answers in the comment box below.
Batrisyia Bte Kamal Baharim (6) 2/8
ReplyDeleteI think the Japanese should apologise for their war cimes committed in Asia eventhough the war took place 70 years ago because we should be compassionate towards one another.
2/8-26
ReplyDeleteYes the japanese should apologise eventhough the war was 70 years ago as Singaporeans would still remember tha pain they had caused to the citizens. It would also affect those who had lost their family members who died during the war and the sook ching massacre.
2/8-6
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese should apologise for their crime wars because they killed and destroyed everything in Singapore. They killed and destroy innocent people lives. They showed no mercy for the people.
2/8-28
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the Japanese should have apologised because of all the damages they did to Singapore and all the people they killed. They should have also apologised because they showed no mercy to innocent people and those innocent people were killed for nothing. Ladies and children were bayoneted for commiting no crime towards the Japanese soldiers.
Yes, i think the japanese should apologise for their war crimes in asia evn though it was commited 70 years ago. it is only right if they do so as the fault lies on them. At least the younger will be treated equally and fairly, without any war or riots like they had in the past and we all can live happily (:
ReplyDelete(27) 2/8
2/8-32
ReplyDeleteyes I think that the japanese should apologise eventhough it has been over 70 years. The Japanese had left a big affection to everyone in Singapore. The war have affected alot of people who were innocent. The Sook Ching Massacre was a torture to those who were innocent and it also affected those who had lost their family members during the war.I also think that eventhough the war was history, Singapore would still remember the pain the Japanese had cause in the past.
2/8-31
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the Japanese should apologise because they did alot of harm to many people who did not do harm to them. Even if they apologise nothing would be unchanged because all the damage has been done to Singapore already and those people who have lost their lives will not come back to life because they are dead
They should pay us a lot of money and more money so that they should say sorry , kneel down . And give us more money
ReplyDelete2/8 (33)
I think the Japanese should apologise for the war crimes commited in asia even though it happened 70 years ago. As many innocent people were killed having no chance to explain for their wrongdoings and so me were even killed for no apparent reasons. Futhermore, the japanese were really biased to the chinese. They were killed for petty reasons such as not bringing their identy card out to the streets.Or even not bowing to them when they come in contact with them. They kill when they feel like it with no regretful feelings as they are trained to be heartless.They find people to point out the spies of the japanese from the chinese.Which concludes that the Japanese were heartless and an apology should be made.
ReplyDeleteCHERYL ONG ZIXUAN(12)
CLASS:2/8
I think they should apologise to the Singapore Government. They brought the older generation pain and suffering which brought the younger generation hurt and loss.
ReplyDelete2/8-(18)
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2/8-19
ReplyDeleteAlthough the war took place 70 years ago,I think the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes which were cruel. Due to their war crimes, most asian were killed but some who were fortunate to escape,did not manage to pull through and eventually died as their wounds were probably not able to be cured or because they suffered from a huge loss of blood. As we know,women and children were not spared and women were tortured badly. Asian lost their family members due to the cruel Japanese who were indeed very heartless. As mentioned above, the Japanese record show that there wre 5000 people killed but in the Sinagpore Chinese Community Figures, it shows a shocking figure of 100000.They were trying to show others that they were not as cruel as how other thought about them.The Japanese should feel sorry for their acts during the war.
2/8-21
ReplyDeleteYes, they should apologize. The way the Japanese treated many of the Chinse was apalling and sadistic. It was cruel and heartless of them to treat a human like that. Even if the Chinese had loyalty towards the British, they should not have treated them like that. Even if the Chinese in Singapore contributed to that war in China, they shouldn't have had the sook ching conpaign to wipe them out. Instead punishing them using other, less sadistic, cruel and heartless methods won't be as bad as the way the Japanese treated them. In my opinion, the Japanese should apologize to the Chinese so to prevent other problems in the future.
2/8-14
ReplyDeleteYes, the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes committed in Asia as they killed so many people during the war that took place 70 years ago. They should not be forgiven as it was very cruel of them.
I think that if the Japanese wanted to apologise,they should have done it years ago.if they apologise now,it will not be as effective as it would have been years ago. Furthermore, an apology will not bring back the many lives that were lost in the war. An apology should not be used so lightly.
ReplyDelete(29) 2/8
I feel that the commander of the Japanese soldiers should apologies to those who had suffered under their ruling. I think there are some soldiers who did not accept the way of the ruling by their commander but they could not speak up , because if they do they might be tortured or even killed and these may involved their families lives. Thus , the Japanese commander should apologies. (2/8-02)
ReplyDeletethe Japanese should apologise as they owe Singapore 25,000 lives. Their apologies will still be counted even though it happened 70 years ago. Peace will be restored back and everything will go back to normal.
ReplyDeleteCarissa Chuah 2/8-13
Yes, they should admit the truth and tell it to the future generation about what they had done to Asia. The Japanese took many innocent lives away, causing people to live in fear and the people lost many loved ones so the japenese should own up to their mistakes.
ReplyDelete2/8-22
I think that they should apologies for their crime as they took away many innocent lives of adults and even young children. They broke families apart and some young children became orphans as their parents were killed. Some of the kids died as they suffered from dehydration and starvation. Majority of the people who were framed by their own people as spies were innocent. (2/8-15)
ReplyDeleteYes. I do think the Japanese should apologise. They went to war for their own selfish needs.... its wrong. They were so proud, so full of themselves. They should humble down and apologise. Even until today the war still affects us.
ReplyDelete2/8 alexandrea tay 35
yes i think the Japanese should apologise for commiting war crimes, the sook ching process murdered 100,000 chinese, some were lucky if they were not bayoneted, but injured in other areas. Even though it happened 70 years ago, japan should lower down their pride and apologise as the apology still counts.
ReplyDeleteBernice Phang 2/8-07
2/7 - 05
ReplyDeleteYes, although this incident happened 70 years ago but I think that Japan should apologise for committing this war crime. 5,000 or 100,000 people isn't a small number so they should just apologise especially when many people were innocently killed .
2/7-33
ReplyDeleteYes I think the Japanese should apologise even though it happened 70 years ago as it was a very cruel thing to do to the people just because they wanted land, money and power. In my opinion, I find it quite disheartening at the fact that no one has come up with an apology to apologise for the shameful and hateful things they have done to the people living In Singapore. In addition to that, I think that Japan should lower their pride and apologise to Singapore.
2/7-22
ReplyDeleteYes, i think that the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes in Asia even if it was 70 years ago.I find it very sad that the Japanese still has not apologised for so many years. They should have realised that they have harmed so many people in the world during the war.
yes, i think the Japanese should apologise even though it happen 70 years ago.As the japanese did killed a lot of people in asia, they took away unnesscary lives,and lives that did no wrong to them. A way of Japanese can apologise is to let the future Japanese students to know what they did in the past. 2/7-03
ReplyDeleteYes, i think the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes committed in Asia. Even though this happened 70 years ago, innocent people had to suffer their torture and some were killed.(2/7-05)
ReplyDeleteTh Japanese ought to apologise for their cruel acts as they killed many innocent men especially the Chinese.Many of the Chinese men were accused of being connected to the British which led them to being killed in the Sook Ching process and its not a fair thing to do because there is no proof.Although some of the men were lucky to escape from the bayonets,they were still injured.Many of the men died though which is also very bad.
ReplyDelete2/7-26
2/7-19
ReplyDeleteYES. i think that the Japanese should apologise as it is basic curtersy and they have killed so many lives.
I think that the japanese should apologise for their war crimes in Asia that took place 70 years ago because sook ching massacre had killed alot of people. Even if some other chinese or people from other races were not killed,they suffered alot from how the Japanese had tortured them.
ReplyDelete2/7-18
Yes. I think that the Japanese soldiers should apologise to the Singaporeans as during the process many people died. According to the video, the Japanese captured man 20 years old and above and at the end everyone was kiloled. If the Japanese had apologised, there would not be be discrimination against the Japanese in Singapore now. Peace would be restored.
ReplyDeleteSec 2/7-21
I think the Japanese should apologise, but it has happen 70 years ago, it will be useless for them to apologise to them now when it is too late. Lives has been killed, it cannot happen if the Japanese apologise now, lives do not come back. They should give us back the money for damaging the lives of people and return the money that the Chinese gave to the Japan warfare.
ReplyDelete2/7-17
I think that the Japanese should apologise, although the incident happened 70 years ago. Singapore suffered many challenges in trying to defeat the Japanese and many people wre killed, living their family members behind and that was a very crutial time for them and it would be proper if the Japanese to apologise to the Asian countries, including Singapore. Taking away so many lives of the innocent people was a selfish act and thus again should apologise.
ReplyDeleteSecondary 2/7 (25)
Yes, as the Japanese were too much, and they afftected us and still, owe us 105,000 lives. Even though it happened 70 years ago, i still think that the Japanese should apologise to us and they killed alot of innocent people and those who suffered the most are the Chinese.
ReplyDelete(2/7-04)
I think that the Japanese government should apologise for doing such things to victim's families, especially the chinese. This process killed many and left many people homeless and could not find their families. Even though it happened long time ago, I feel that the Japanese should not be embarrased and be brave to apologise to those they injured and hurt eventually.
ReplyDelete2/7-06
Yes, i think the Japanese should apologise. Because many poeple died during the sook ching process. Some children were also separate from their parents and become orphan. Most of the people who are frame as spies were innnocent.They also torture lots of singaporean.Therefore, i think that the Japanese should apologise to us.
ReplyDelete2/7-29
Yes, i think that they should apologise even though it is 70 years ago. I feel that they should apologise as they killed many people and children and women were not spared.
ReplyDeleteSec 2/7 (16)
Yes i think the Japanese should apologise for commiting war crimes even though it was 70 years ago . The Sook Ching process killed 100,000 innocent lives . But some of them were lucky to survive through the process .
ReplyDelete2/7-10
Yes, i think that the Japanese should be apologizing for their war crimes that they committed in Asia even if it was 70 years ago. The Japanese took away the innocent lives of the women and children too, excluding the men, which was a shamless act. This has therefore caused many people to lose their loved ones and live in pain.
ReplyDelete2/7-14
Yes and no. I think the Japanese should apologise for commiting war crimes to show that they are sorry for their actions. However, even if they apologise now, it will not have a big impact on the people as that incident happened a long time ago. Apologising would also not bring back the lives of people who were killed during the Sook Ching Process. Therefore,I think that the Japanese should still apologise as to some people, the apology still means a lot to them.
ReplyDelete2/7 (32)
sec 2/7 (1)
ReplyDeleteI think the Japanese should apologise for their war crimes committed in asia.They need to apologise so that the countries would have a better bond and a trustworthy friendship.To start by making a fresh start and clearing the air, the japanese should take time off to apologise to asia even though it happened 70 years ago.
Although the Sook Ching has happened seventy years ago, the guilt would still remain within them. Lives were killed due to the Japanese unscruplous acts. In conclusion, I think the Japanese should humble themselves and learn from their mistakes and not only apologise to Singapre but to the world for their selfish acts.
ReplyDelete-Doreen 2/7 (7)
Yes and no. No because whatever that was done in the past is already over and cannot be changed now. Whereas, if the japanese apologised the families of those who were killed in during the sook ching would feel better but won't have the best feeling as they can't bring back what was done before. However, I feel that overall, the Japanese should still apologise for all the trouble and pain that they had caused to many innocent people as a form of respect.
ReplyDelete2/7-27
Yes, they should apoplogise. The Japanese were cruel enough to punished and kill the asian people. They killed mostly the chinese as they were biased towards them. They place their pride above anyone else and now i think that they should lower down their pride and start to apologise to us.
ReplyDelete2/7-20
I do not think the Japanese should apologise, because what is done is already done, and nothing can be changed any more, even though they were ruthless and cruel and killed many innocent people. Although they caused a lot of damage to property such as houses and cars and also took lives, it would still be useless for them to apologise.
ReplyDeleteI think the Japanese should apologise for thier crimes, even though it happened 70 years ago. As they took away innocent lives of adult and even young children.Futhermore, the japanese treated the chinese harsly among all the races. They killed them forthings like not bringing their identy card.When they killed this poeple they dont even have feeling toward them.This people have lost their family suffer with pain and even their generation.Therefore i think the Japenese should say sorry even though a sorry is not gonna bring back the people who they killed.
ReplyDelete2/7(24)
I do not think the Japanese should apologise, because what's done is done, and there is no point in crying over spilled milk. Although they took away innocent lives and caused damage to property such as houses and cars, it would still be useless for them to apologise.
ReplyDelete2/7-30
Yes. Ireally do think that Japan should say there sorry. It hass been a long time since the war and the sorry they say can't bring back lives. What is gone is gone. They should at least except the fact that they did wrong. it is the least they can do.
ReplyDelete2/7- (12)
Yes, i think the Japanese should apologise to us as they did horrible things to us, murdering thousand of people without reasons and discrimanating races, so i think that they should apologize to us.
ReplyDeleteGiovanna Martinez 2/7-08
Yes, i think the Japanese should apologise for committing war crimes. The sook ching process killed innocent people and tore families apart. (2/7-13)
ReplyDeleteyes because the Japanese killed many people during the war , they also mistreated the people badly , and they were very proud . Even though the war happened 70 years ago , i think the Japanese should apologise because they did something wrong
ReplyDelete2/7-35
2/7-11
ReplyDeleteYes i think japan should apologise on their behalf. However, i do not think that they should be so apologetic as they were not part of the sook ching process or the war at the time. People should not look down on the modern japanese now all because Yamashita's army did much damage to the singaporeans back then
i think the Japanese should apologise because although the war took place 70 years ago, they had still comitted a war crime. imagine you killed thousands of people and caused hurt to their families and yet still dont apologise. i believe it is right to apologise even though they might not have been the generetion that have caused it, maybe the older generation. they should apologise for their older generations mistake just for the sake of the number of families that had lost their loved ones.
ReplyDelete(2/7-9)
Yes, i do think the Japanese should apologise even though it happened 70 years ago. They killed many innocent people; adults and children. Even though it is not the present generation that tortured and killed our people of the older generation, they should still apologise for the japanese nation and their older generation as it reflects their pride against us.
ReplyDelete2/7-34