February 15, 2017, 01:40 PM 
The National Archives Singapore revamped the exhibition at Former Ford Factory at Upper Bukit Timah Road and named it Syonan Gallery: War and its Legacies.
The exhibition showcases Singapore's involvement during World War II. There has been fierce debate over the name because when Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, it was renamed Syonan-to, which means "Light of the South".
Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, said that the name of the gallery was not to express approval of the Japanese Occupation, instead he said the name "remembers what our forefathers went through, commemorates the generation of Singaporeans who experienced the Occupation, and reaffirms our collective commitment never to let this happen again."
The Minister also acknowledged that some older Singaporeans who lived through the occupation felt that the name legitimises the occupation, while for others, he said, Syonan was a painful fact of history and that "we should call it what it was".
Understandably, such an issue has gotten people talking.
Let's start with those are opposed to the use of "Syonan"
Here's ex-Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng's take:
This pretty well-written explanation of why "Syonan" can still be used, but in a different way:
This guy:
Pssst, Lt Adnan is featured prominently at Reflections at Bukit Chandu
And then here are the people who have no problem with the use of "Syonan"
There is Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan who makes us question if we should be unhappy about names of things like Raffles Junior College:
What's in a name?
It's not the first name that controversy has erupted over the naming of a historical-theme event.
Some netizens criticized the National Gallery Singapore’s naming of its first fundraising gala The Empire Ball 2016 last September for glorifying colonialism.
And then there's this guy who probably represents every Singapore father mother son
Or sushi.
Related article:
The Syonan Gallery, Empire Ball, and the Singaporean identity
Top photo on NAS
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