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Japan Forward
5 days ago
- General
- Japan Forward
The Forgotten War Dead in Taiwan: Japan Resumes Search After Half a Century
このページを 日本語 で読む Beneath the shimmering waves of the Bashi Channel, a narrow stretch of ocean between Taiwan and the Philippines, lies one of the most overlooked graveyards of World War II. This vital maritime route, linking the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, was once the site of fierce attacks. In the final stages of the war, dozens of Japanese transport ships, traveling to and from Southeast Asia, were sunk by American submarines and carrier-based aircraft. Countless soldiers and crew members died in the waters. Over 100,000 lives were lost. Many of their bodies were carried by the Kuroshio Current to the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan. Local residents cremated the remains and buried them on sites facing the sea. Even today, it is believed that the bones of several hundred individuals remain there. The only official recovery effort by the Japanese government took place in 1975 and brought back 242 sets of remains. In a quiet corner of the peninsula stands Choonji Temple, a memorial built in 1981 by former Japanese soldier Shuji Nakajima, who used his own funds. Nakajima had been aboard a transport ship that was sunk during the war. He survived after drifting for 12 days at sea, during which he witnessed many of his comrades drown. One soldier died holding Nakajima's hand, calling out his wife's name with his last breath. Nakajima's sorrow is captured in The Strait of Lamentation , a nonfiction book by writer Takamasa Kadota. The book features a poem written by Nakajima: All my comrades lie sunk in the Bashi Sea. Why am I the only one still adrift in this life? For decades, the victims of the Bashi Channel received little attention. The lack of formal diplomatic ties between Japan and Taiwan made official recovery efforts politically difficult. Kadota described the men lost there as "the forgotten war dead." Nakajima spent much of his later life calling for memorial services and the return of remains to Japan. He passed away in 2013. The first memorial ceremony at Choonji Temple was not held until two years after his death. The Choonji Temple in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan. On August 3, a memorial service to honor Japanese soldiers who died around the Bashi Channel was held once again at Choonji Temple in Hengchun, Pingtung County, at Taiwan's southern tip. Around 150 relatives and others attended. Marking 80 years since the end of the war, this year's ceremony included, for the first time, a condolence message delivered on behalf of the Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, who oversees memorial activities for war dead. Due to the lack of diplomatic relations, official Japanese memorial participation in Taiwan had long been absent. However, since 2015 — the 70th anniversary of the war's end — volunteers from Japan and Taiwan have organized annual services. At this year's ceremony, Kazuyuki Katayama, representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association's Taipei office (Japan's de facto embassy in Taiwan), read a message from Minister Takamaro Fukuoka. The letter expressed condolences and acknowledged that Japan's peace and prosperity today were built on the lives of those who had perished. Takayuki Watanabe, chairman of the event's organizing committee, called the reading a "memorable moment," saying it finally gave voice to the long-standing hopes of bereaved families. Among those in attendance was 80-year-old Hatsue Yoshioka from Isen Town, Kagoshima Prefecture. Her father was aboard the Tamatsumaru , a ship that was sunk in the Bashi Channel. "Father," she said in her eulogy, "I have come here to pray at this place where you risked your life for the country, the people, and the children — and where you fell." Now, in the 80th year since the end of the war, the Japanese government has launched a new initiative to recover remains from Taiwan. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to dispatch staff from the Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties to Taiwan soon. It is the first such effort in 50 years. As memories of the war fade, there is a risk of losing sight of its human cost. Many who died in service still lie in foreign seas and soil, far from their families. The return of their remains is long overdue, and efforts to bring them home should no longer be delayed. ( Read the related article in Japanese . ) Author: The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
Yomiuri Shimbun
04-08-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Families of WWII Soldiers Who Died in Bashi Channel Mourn at Ceremony in Southern Taiwan
PINGTUNG COUNTY, Taiwan — A memorial service was held Sunday at Chaoyin Temple in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, to commemorate Japanese soldiers who died in battle during the World War II in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. About 160 people, including family members of the soldiers and those engaged in Japan-Taiwan relations, attended the service and offered prayers for the repose of their souls. At the ceremony, a 83-year-old priest from Ogi, Saga Prefecture, recited sutras. His father was the captain of the destroyer Kuretake, which sank in the Bashi Channel. Kazuyuki Katayama, representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office, equivalent to an embassy, read out a condolence message from Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takamaro Fukuoka. A 80-year-old female resident of Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, lost her father, who was a lance corporal in the Imperial Japanese Army. Attending the ceremony for the first time, she released photos of her father, as well as of her late mother and brother, into the sea from a sandy beach overlooking the strait. 'This is the first time all four members of my family have gathered here. War destroys families and makes people miserable,' she said, emphasizing the value of peace. The Bashi Channel was a major supply route connecting Japan and areas to the south during the war. Nicknamed 'the graveyard of transport ships' due to intense U.S. military attacks that sank Japanese ships one after another, it is said that over 100,000 people lost their lives in the channel. Some of the remains drifted ashore to southern Taiwan, where local residents cremated and buried them. In September, Japan plans to conduct a search to excavate the remains of the war dead.
The Mainichi
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japanese cast national election votes locally in Taiwan for 1st time
TAIPEI (Kyodo) -- Early overseas voting for Japan's approaching upper house race began in Taiwan on Friday, marking the first time that polling stations for Japanese national elections have been set up in the self-ruled territory. Approximately 21,000 Japanese nationals live in Taiwan, with around 16,000 eligible to vote. They can cast their ballots until July 14 in Taipei and Kaohsiung ahead of the July 20 House of Councillors election. The number of officially registered voters, a requirement for overseas electors, has not been disclosed by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, which represents Japanese interests on the island in the absence of official diplomatic ties. In the past, Japanese citizens living in Taiwan had to return to Japan or relied on postal ballots when they wished to participate in an election at home. Ran Shimano, a 44-year-old Taipei resident who was among the first group of voters to cast ballots, said, "I'm glad to be able to deliver my vote to Japan while living overseas." Yo Takaba, deputy representative of the association's Taipei Office, told reporters the move was in response to demand from the "very big Japanese community in Taiwan" which wanted an overseas in-person voting system. "Now we realize that overseas voting is very meaningful, expanding the opportunity to exercise the right to vote and also contributes to an improvement in the convenience of voting," he said. Japan followed countries such as South Korea and Australia, which allow in-person voting for their citizens residing in Taiwan at their de facto diplomatic missions on the island.
Japan Times
16-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan is by far the favorite country among Taiwanese: survey
More than 75% of Taiwanese say that Japan is their favorite country, followed by South Korea at just 4% and both China and the U.S. on 3%, according to a regular survey released Tuesday by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. The survey, conducted in December and January among 1,520 Taiwanese living in Taiwan between the ages of 20 and 80, comes as concern rises in both Japan and Taiwan over Beijing's aggression in the Taiwan Strait. Japan has been the most popular country since the survey began in 2008, with 76% of respondents picking it this year — up 16 points from 2022. Neither South Korea nor China or the U.S. have ever surpassed 8% in the favorability rankings. South Korea came in second place for the first time, as China's popularity fell 2 percentage points to 3%. While more than 70% of all age groups said that Japan was their favorite country, the highest support — 82% — came from respondents in their 30s. The sharpest increase in favorability was among respondents between the ages of 50 and 64 at 74%, up 27 percentage points from 2022. Although the survey did not ask respondents why they like Japan so much, it did ask why they think Japan-Taiwan relations are improving. The most cited reason, at 29%, was that 'Japan-Taiwan relations appeared to be positive in media coverage, online information and personal observations.' It also asked respondents why they could trust Japan, with 66% reasoning that the two countries 'share similar values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law." As for which aspects of Japan respondents were interested in, travel (59%) topped the list, followed by culinary culture (58%), traditional culture (41%), nature (33%) and the Japanese spirit and philosophy (33%). Japan-Taiwan relations have grown closer in recent months, with Taiwan naming Japan's ex-SDF chief as a Cabinet consultant and Taiwan's No. 2 diplomat seeking higher-level 'unofficial' Japan meetings . In February, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te met with Yuichiro Tamaki , head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, and discussed industrial cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, including collaboration in the semiconductor sector. Lai also met with Akie Abe, wife of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, thanking her for speaking on the Taiwan Strait issue at the Halifax International Security Forum in Taipei. Citing remarks made by her husband in the past, Abe said that a crisis in Taiwan is a crisis for Japan. In September, Taiwan lifted import bans on mushrooms, game meat and koshiabura — a mountain vegetable — from five Japanese prefectures affected by the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear disaster: Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The move is seen as a step toward joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework, which includes Japan.
