September 29, 2015
The remains of Okinawans who died in US military internment camps in Okinawa around seventy years ago may be about to be returned to the hands of their bereaved families thanks to efforts made by concerned citizens and the Japanese Communist Party.
After World War II ended, the U.S. military confined 300,000 Okinawan people in 16 camps around the prefecture. With poor facilities and lack of food in the camps, many of the confined died of malaria, malnutrition, and other diseases.
One of those camps was located in the Henoko district in Nago City. A document compiled by the city government states that at that time, around 10 people died every day at the camp and hundreds of grave markers stood in the nearby woods.
As the camp was within the area which is currently a part of U.S. Camp Schwab, the remains of the dead have been buried there to this day. Citizens have been calling for the return of the remains to the bereaved families.
The Japanese Communist Party has also been working on this issue. JCP lawmaker Akamine Seiken earlier this month took up the issue at a Diet meeting. He demanded that the government search for and gather the remains at U.S. military facilities. Welfare Ministry Shiozaki Yasuhisa in reply said that the ministry will collect related information and ask the U.S. military for permission to conduct the necessary work at the site.
Gushiken Takamatsu, who heads a citizen’s organization devoting its effort to recover the remains of locals who were killed in the Battle of Okinawa, stressed that the recovery of the remains is a matter of decency and humanity. He said, “Many of the remains have been in places not far from us, but fences set up by the U.S. military have prevented us from reaching them for seven decades. I thought it would be impossible to get them back from the U.S. bases. So, I’m so happy to hear that the door is now finally opening.”
After World War II ended, the U.S. military confined 300,000 Okinawan people in 16 camps around the prefecture. With poor facilities and lack of food in the camps, many of the confined died of malaria, malnutrition, and other diseases.
One of those camps was located in the Henoko district in Nago City. A document compiled by the city government states that at that time, around 10 people died every day at the camp and hundreds of grave markers stood in the nearby woods.
As the camp was within the area which is currently a part of U.S. Camp Schwab, the remains of the dead have been buried there to this day. Citizens have been calling for the return of the remains to the bereaved families.
The Japanese Communist Party has also been working on this issue. JCP lawmaker Akamine Seiken earlier this month took up the issue at a Diet meeting. He demanded that the government search for and gather the remains at U.S. military facilities. Welfare Ministry Shiozaki Yasuhisa in reply said that the ministry will collect related information and ask the U.S. military for permission to conduct the necessary work at the site.
Gushiken Takamatsu, who heads a citizen’s organization devoting its effort to recover the remains of locals who were killed in the Battle of Okinawa, stressed that the recovery of the remains is a matter of decency and humanity. He said, “Many of the remains have been in places not far from us, but fences set up by the U.S. military have prevented us from reaching them for seven decades. I thought it would be impossible to get them back from the U.S. bases. So, I’m so happy to hear that the door is now finally opening.”
