Remains of Hiroshima A-Bomb Victim to Get DNA Test

Hiroshima, Nov. 17 (Jiji Press)–One set of the unclaimed remains placed in the vault under the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, will undergo DNA profiling to identify the individual, city government officials said Monday. It will be the first time for remains of victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in August 1945 in the closing days of World War II to undergo DNA testing. It is believed to be difficult to identify an individual through DNA analysis of remains that had been burned. DNA testing will be conducted this time after hair was found inside the urn containing the remains, after an inquiry by possible bereaved relatives in May, the city officials said. The city government plans to ask Kanagawa Dental University in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, to conduct DNA analysis using the hair. “If scientific knowledge is gained that remains can be identified from hair 80 years later, we will continue to implement such activities on request,” a city official said. The vault contains the ashes of around 70,000 victims. Among them, those of 812 people are unclaimed although their names have been identified. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]