Remains of a War Victim who is not Remaining The first identification by DNA testing To the bereaved family August 26, 18:26
One of the battlefields of the Pacific War, the remains of war dead collected in the Republic of Kiribati in the South Pacific Ocean, will be identified by DNA analysis and returned to the Japanese survivors. This is the first time to identify a person by DNA analysis in the case where there are no relics, and it is expected that the identification of the remains will proceed in the future.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been advancing DNA testing for the identification of the remains of war dead since 2003, but in principle, if there are relics related to the identity such as a name tag found nearby, Limited
Since voices said that the conditions were too strict, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has newly set a new target for DNA testing for ashes collected from Iwo Jima and Tarawa Atoll, Republic of Kiribati from this year, even if there are no relics that could lead to identification. I was adding.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 162 of the remains collected at Tarawa Atoll were DNA-tested by the United States with samples provided, and as a result, one person was identified and returned to the bereaved family last month. It means that it was decided to be.
Tarawa Atoll is one of the fierce battlefields of the Pacific War, and it is said that about 4,200 people died on the Japanese side, and some survivors of the war dead provided the samples necessary for DNA verification.
It is the first time to identify a person by DNA analysis in the case where there are no relics, and it is expected that the identification of the remains will proceed in the future. Therefore, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is planning to expand the area where DNA analysis is conducted even if there are no relics. ..