Search for Remains of Japanese War Dead Starts in Taiwan

Hengchun, Taiwan, July 20 (Jiji Press)–A search for the remains of former Japanese troops and others who died in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines during the Pacific War, part of World War II, started on the coast of Hengchun, Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, on Monday. About 10 people, including those from the Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties designated by the Japanese welfare ministry, will excavate sites where local residents are said to have buried many bodies that washed ashore. The survey will continue until the end of this month. It is the first time since 1975 for the Japanese government to conduct such an excavation survey in Taiwan, with which Tokyo does not have diplomatic relations. In the previous survey, the remains of a total of 242 people were collected. “We hope to find bone remains as soon as possible and send them back to Japan,” association official Tatsuaki Inoue, who heads the survey mission, said. In the Bashi Channel, many transport and other vessels of the former Japanese military heading south were sunk by U.S. military attacks in the late phase of the Pacific War. While more than 100,000 people are said to have died, the exact number of victims is unknown. The coast subject to the survey is near the water discharge outlet of a closed nuclear power plant of Taiwan Power Co. Two areas each about 2 meters in length and width will be dug to a depth of about 1.5 meters to 2 meters. If bone remains are found, the Japanese association will send a separate team comprising experts to Taiwan. If there is a possibility that such remains are those of Japanese nationals, samples will be brought back to Japan for DNA analyses. The survey came after Kazuko Tachi, 44, who lives in Pingtung County, heard from local residents that the bodies of many Japanese troops were cremated and buried at a certain place and she relayed the information to the association. “I’m full of emotion as the excavation survey began,” said Tachi, who participates in the survey. Near the survey site is a temple built by survivors of a ship that sank in the Bashi Channel. A memorial service for those who died in the waterway during the Pacific War is held at the temple every year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]