Remains of Japanese war dead laid to rest at national cemetery
The remains of Japanese nationals who mostly died overseas during World War Two have been laid to rest at a cemetery in central Tokyo.
A memorial for the 368 unidentified people was held at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery on Monday. More than 600 people took part, including Crown Prince and Princess Akishino and representatives of the bereaved families.
Welfare Minister Fukuoka Takamaro said the government will not forget that many war dead have still been left behind, and will do all it can to bring home as many of them as possible.
The remains of the 368 war dead that were newly laid to rest were recovered from the Bismarck Archipelago in the South Pacific and other areas. This brings the total number of war dead interred at the cemetery to more than 371,000.
As Japan marks 80 years since the end of World War Two this year, the government says it will speed up efforts to collect the remains of the war dead. The bodies of about 1.12 million Japanese are still unrecovered in former battlefields, both in and outside Japan.
An 83-year-old woman lost her father, who served in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She said she cannot bear to think that he still lies on the ocean floor off Japan's Pacific Coast and wants to embrace his remains if at all possible.
The woman said she hopes the government will proceed with its efforts to return as many war dead as possible to their families.
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