On February 18, 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army began a carefully planned massacre of ethnic Chinese men in the conquered territories of Singapore and Malaya, an effort to eliminate what the Japanese perceived to be “hostile elements.” As many as 100,000 Chinese men were executed in a purge called Sook Ching by the Chinese. Soldiers carrying out the deadly deeds were supervised by the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police. Digging Deeper The Japanese saw the Chinese as their main enemy in Asia and called the purge of ethnic Chinese “Kaky? Shukusei” or “purging of Overseas Chinese” in English. An alternate...