01-05-2025
Use of US records considered in search for Battle of Okinawa victims' remains
NHK has learned that a Japanese organization is considering using US military records in its search for the remains of people who died during fierce ground fighting in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture in the final days of World War Two.
Japan's now-defunct Imperial military fought US forces in the southwestern prefecture 80 years ago in what is known as the Battle of Okinawa.
More than 200,000 people, including civilians, lost their lives during the battle. One in four Okinawa residents died. The remains of many victims have yet to be found.
Sources say the organization commissioned by Okinawa Prefecture is considering using records created by a US military unit during the battle, in its effort to locate remains. The unit had been tasked with burying enemy bodies near where they were found.
A researcher of the battle, Hosaka Hiroshi, obtained the records from the US National Archives. The documents contain information such as burial dates and locations, as well as the numbers of residents and soldiers buried.
The records say mass burials took place on May 5, 1945, one day after a major Japanese offensive failed. They state that the remains of more than 70 people, including residents, were buried that day in or around the Makiminato area of what was then Urasoe Village.
The records also say that as of May 12 that year, or more than a month after US forces landed on Okinawa's main island, the unit had buried the remains of 644 soldiers and 41 residents.
Gushiken Takamatsu, who has spent many years looking for remains from the Battle of Okinawa, says records prepared by personnel who buried bodies are highly credible and crucial. He says it is well worth dedicating time and staff to searches that will utilize the documents. He adds that this is an effort that must be carried out.
