Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare returns six remains of foreigners mistakenly brought back to Kazakhstan and Myanmar

As of the 23rd, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that it had returned to Kazakhstan and Myanmar six of the remains of foreigners who had been mistakenly brought back from among the remains collected as Japanese war dead during the last war. This is the first time the ministry has returned mixed-up remains.

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Regarding the ministry's remains collection project, it was discovered in 2019 that Russia had mistaken the remains of Siberian detainees and foreigners. Mistakes also became a problem in the Philippines.

The returned items were two pillars collected in Kazakhstan in 2001 and four pillars collected in Myanmar in 2001 and 2003. In 2023 and 2024, an appraisal of the remains brought back in the past following the mix-up incident that occurred in 2019 revealed that the possibility of the remains being Japanese was low. It was returned in June and July of this year. Two specimens, some of which were brought back because it was unclear whether they were Japanese remains, were returned to Kazakhstan in 2022.

The ministry is also proceeding with return negotiations with Russia regarding the mix-up in Russia. However, due to the influence of the situation in Ukraine, the situation is said to be stagnant.

Following the 2019 mix-up, the ministry began reviewing its collection methods. Since 2020, DNA testing has been conducted on some of the remains that are likely to be Japanese, and once the remains have been determined to be Japanese, the rest have been taken home.

However, this method means that the remains will remain overseas for a long period of time. For this reason, in September, the ministry began a trial program in which, in cases where there is an extremely high possibility that the remains are Japanese, such as those found in mass graves of Japanese soldiers, the entire remains should be brought back to Japan for DNA analysis.

Approximately 2.4 million Japanese people are said to have died overseas in the last war. Approximately 1,120,000 remains remain, and the ministry is rushing to collect them, with an intensive implementation period ending in 2029.