Australia returns Ainu remains to Japan after 80 years

Australia on Saturday returned to Japan four sets of indigenous Ainu remains, more than 80 years since they were sent to the Pacific nation for research purposes.The Japanese government has been stepping up efforts to bring back the remains of the indigenous ethnic group from Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, which were collected -- sometimes by excavating tombs -- for studies in anthropology and other fields.The remains, all skulls, were handed over to representatives of the Japanese government and Ainu-related groups in a ceremony at Melbourne Museum.Masaru Okawa, who leads the …READ FULL ARTICLE