Siberian remains 70 people will be taken home without expert assessment | NHK News

70 Siberian remains were taken home without expert evaluation at the site August 7 18:47

There is a suspicion that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was mistaken for the remains of the Japanese who died in Siberia. Of these, the remains of 70 people were newly taken out of the minutes obtained by NHK that they were brought home without appraisal of local experts to judge whether they were Japanese.

An executive of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare explained at a congress at Ototoshi that "At that time, it was assumed that it was a burial place for Japanese war dead and was not housed and medically evaluated."

Regarding the remains of Siberian detainees, the experts collected by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's delegation as Japanese belonged to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in December and August last year. The NHK interview reveals what was reported in

Of these, the remains of 70 people collected in Irkutsk, Siberia in 2000, 19 years ago, were brought home without the Japanese or Russian experts assessing whether they were Japanese or not. This was newly found in the minutes obtained by NHK.

According to the minutes, at the meeting in December, the person in charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said about the situation at that time `` The target burial place was slightly shifted from the material provided by the Russian side, but from the village head and local people here Explained that it was Japanese because there was a testimony that it was a Japanese burial place, '' an executive of another Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, `` I guess that it was a burial place for Japanese war dead at that time, I did not stand and did not have a medical examination. "

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's procedure manual, whether the remains are Japanese or not is judged on the spot by the Japanese side or the local appraiser, but it is clear from the burial materials etc. that only Japanese are buried Says that it is not necessary to conduct a racial assessment.

However, from the last fiscal year after the suspicion of misunderstanding was reported, it was decided that Japanese appraisers would accompany all collection sites.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare stated that “we would like to refrain from comment because there is a trusting relationship with the partner country”.

Minutes “Accepted by Guess”

According to the minutes obtained by NHK, the secretary of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said in a private meeting held in December, “The materials provided by the Russian side were the burial sites they aimed for in the 2000 delegation report. There was a testimony from the village chief and local people that this was a Japanese burial place, but no leftovers were found, but leftovers that prove to be foreigners. I decided that I was Japanese and brought it back at the time, but it seems that there is a Russian cemetery on the other side of the road, and there is a Russian cemetery nearby. ” The

And an official of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, “The delegation of the time was supposed to be a burial place for Japanese war dead. Now, in Russia, we have been judged by local experts, so this situation is I think that it will be difficult to be born in the future, but it was reported that at that time, no medical examination was conducted on the assumption that it was a burial place for Japanese war dead. "

He concludes that, based on this opinion, the whole thing is very suspicious or the possibility of a Japanese burial place is extremely low.

The appraisal rules for remains are

According to the procedure manual compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, it is said that the Japanese side or local appraiser will judge whether the remains are Japanese, but only Japanese people are buried from burial materials etc. If it is clear, it is not necessary to conduct racial assessment.

For this reason, according to officials, there were cases in which the appraiser had not been present at the Siberian collection site where the Russian list of detainees and maps of burial sites were provided. The remains of 70 people were not evaluated by specialists, and the remains of 16 people collected in 2014 were only examined by experts from the Russian side. It was.

As a general rule, Japanese appraisers were to accompany all collection sites only in the last year after a suspicion of mistaking the remains of 70 people in December.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare explains the reason, “We decided to accompany all sites since last fiscal year because we were able to secure the number of appraisers with a budget. The problem in Siberia was not the cause.”

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare “I was going to announce it after discussion with the Russian side”

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported the reason why NHK first reported this issue on the 29th of the month, saying that Russian experts have determined that the remains of Japanese remains are high. The location of the site should be determined in consultation with the partner country for collecting the remains, so it will not be published when the DNA test results are reported, but will be published after discussion with the Russian side. Explained.

However, according to the minutes, the remains of 70 people who were newly suspected of being misunderstood were not subject to expert appraisal on the Japanese and Russian sides.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has said that “I want to refrain from comment because I have a trusting relationship with the partner country”, and I have not explained it in detail.

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has identified the burial place based on materials provided by the Russian side regarding the remains of Siberian detainees. There were many things that were not accurate. "

Tadao Kurihara (72), a former employee of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, who has been in charge of collecting the remains of Siberian detainees for 72 years It is very difficult to specify the place because there are many cases where there are no grave markers in the place that is considered a burial place. "I can't trust it because I've never seen a burial place," he testified.

And he said that he had the experience of trying to mix up the remains of his own. “There are various factors in Siberia because Russians and Asian northern peoples are buried. As the number of detainees themselves is becoming smaller and the memory of the detainees is fading, it will be more difficult to collect the remains of the future. "