I want the park to remain. Solely because I have been there, and the amount of history to be gleamed from the place is far more than your average secondary school textbook. It displays a face of Singapore that many would not even think about. Or know about.

Especially the karayuki-san, and some of the gudan-zoku, and the original owners of the land. That place tells us so much of history unsaid by the government.

So when this piece came up, I felt sonewhat shocked. Why do we need to remove the cemetery though? I don't mind a little debate here and there, but informed debate is necessary.

First up. The ashes of the general, if I am not wrong, were already repatriated to Japan. Long ago. What is buried here are the personal items of said general. Has this guy done his research at all? I do remember very clearly that this is the case, having looked into it.

I don't remember clearly if the soldiers ashes are there, so I will go look up on it... (Pretty sure they are.) Or the temple's inscription, so written. I will need to go back to the papers that discussed about the Japanese Cemetery in detail. (Yes, someone did a detailed research on this cemetery, with a long report on what is in the cemetery, unlike this reporter who just crashes in without much reference...)

Technically speaking, the land is legally under NParks for quite some time, so it is more of a "park" than a "cemetery", but I am not too sure.

(If anyone wants a quick tidbit about the place, the former caretaker of the place is buried there. His tomb is the only Chinese tomb there. And quite close to the general's...)