HENGCHUN, Taiwan - An excavation to recover the remains of Japanese soldiers who died in Taiwan during World War II began Monday in Hengchun in the southern county of Pingtung, marking the first such operation on the island in about 50 years.
The preliminary excavation, scheduled to continue through July 31, is being conducted at a beach facing the Bashi Channel by a Japanese association dedicated to repatriating the remains of Japanese war dead from overseas.
Government-backed recovery surveys had not been conducted in Taiwan for decades, due partly to the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Tokyo and Taipei.
Around 41,900 Japanese are estimated to have died in Taiwan during the war and the remains of about 15,600 have yet to be recovered, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
About 10 people participated in the first day's excavation, including two members of the Japanese survey mission and local personnel.
Tatsuaki Inoue of the Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties, which has been commissioned by the ministry to recover the remains, said any human remains found would undergo DNA analysis and other testing to determine whether they belonged to Japanese soldiers or people of other ethnic backgrounds.
Investigations by local historians suggest many Japanese soldiers killed in an Allied attack on a convoy in 1944 were buried along the coast near Hengchun.
In 1972, Japan switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. Three years later, the Japanese government commissioned its de facto representative office in Taiwan to conduct excavation surveys, leading to the recovery of 242 sets of remains.
Inoue called the latest excavation survey "very significant" given the difficulties encountered in the past. He also expressed gratitude to the people of Taiwan, saying, "Taiwanese locals are very cooperative, and very care about the remains" and the families of the fallen soldiers.
