Remains of former Japanese soldiers repatriate

The remains of more than 4,300 former Japanese soldiers killed in the Philippines during World War 2 have been repatriated.

A government team that retrieved the remains handed them over to the welfare ministry at a ceremony in Tokyo on Thursday.

The latest finding of 4,370 soldiers brings to 7,739 the total number of remains collected in the Philippines since this April. The figure is the highest in 30 years of such work, partly due to the cooperation of a local non-governmental organization.

Welfare minister Akira Nagatsuma said his ministry will do all it can to repatriate fallen soldiers still left behind in foreign battle grounds.

Another 1.15 million Japanese troops, or nearly half those who died outside Japan in World War 2, are still unaccounted for.

Collecting their remains becomes difficult year by year as there are fewer surviving witnesses.

Osamu Takeuchi, who joined the current mission, said he wants the government to have staff stationed in the Philippines to bolster the efforts.