Remain of Japanese soldiers excavated

Remain of Japanese soldiers excavated

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Japanese researchers have excavated a mass grave containing the
remains of Japanese soldiers who died in World War II on the
remote Papuan island of Wakde, which was the scene of heavy
fighting, Antara reported on Tuesday.

The remains, along with equipment such as binoculars, food
rations and weapons, were uncovered in September in a cave on the
island, some 300 kilometers west of the Papua capital Jayapura.

The researchers believe the cave may have contained hundreds
of sets of remains, the largest number discovered since Indonesia
and Japan signed an agreement in 1993 on efforts to repatriate
the remains of Japanese soldiers.

A local military officer involved in the excavation, Chief
Sgt. Hans Kadiwaru, said on Tuesday the remains of Papuans who
might have sought shelter in the cave had also been found. The
researchers separated the remains of the Japanese soldiers and
repatriated them to Japan.

Kadiwaru said the researchers had also discovered the remains
of several Japanese and Allied Forces soldiers on another part of
Wakde, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas.

The Japanese heavily fortified Wakde with more than 100
bunkers, as well as 12 fortified coral caves. It also contained
an airstrip that covered almost half of the island, which faces
the Pacific Ocean.

Allied Forces launched a massive aerial and amphibious assault
on the tiny island on May 17, 1944. Allied reports say 40
Americans were killed in the operation, along with 759 Japanese
soldiers.

The Japanese government announced in 1990 a plan to build a
memorial on the island, but so far nothing has come of the plan.
The country has only put up a small monument on the main road in
downtown Sarmi.

An estimated 50,000 Japanese soldiers died in Papua during
World War II, 30,000 of them on battlefields in Biak Numfor
regency.