The Japanese government’s heightened efforts to retrieve the remains of the war dead from the Pacific Ocean have stalled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, much to the disappointment of bereaved family members.

With the novel coronavirus still spreading, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said it does not know when it can resume its underwater search for Japanese troops killed in the Pacific War.

According to the ministry, 2.4 million Japanese were killed outside Japan during the war. The total includes people who died in the heavy battle on Iwoto island, previously known as Iwojima, south of Tokyo, which was temporarily placed under U.S. rule following the end of World War II.

The remains of 1.12 million Japanese have yet to be retrieved, including 300,000 whose bodies are resting on the bottom of the sea.

So far, the underwater remains of 670 individuals have been collected.

Maritime recovery work is much more difficult than unearthing bones on land, the ministry said, partly because there is far less information about the underwater locations of remains.

The ministry had previously balked at picking up underwater remains, except when they could be easily spotted by swimmers.

Lifting bodies from the ocean depths also presents a big challenge, and ministry had insisted that “undersea burials” would be enough to console the souls of the war dead.

Advanced diving techniques and increasing activities of private divers have allowed the ministry to gather more reports on underwater remains. But these developments have also caused problems.

In one case, bereaved relatives in Japan raised concerns when an image of an underwater body presumed to be a dead soldier was posted on the internet.

The welfare ministry in 2020 changed its approach and place more emphasis on underwater remains that could be safely removed from the water.

The ministry started asking divers in and outside Japan to report any sightings of skeletal remains.

A project was expected to start last fiscal year to retrieve remains off the Chuuk islands, which were formerly known as Truk, in Micronesia. At least 50 vessels sank and 5,900 individuals died during warfare around the islets.

In 1984 and 1994, based on reports from local residents, Japan recovered the remains of 355 people from a sunken cargo vessel named Aikoku Maru.

But the Federated States of Micronesia currently restricts entry to the region to reduce the risk of novel coronavirus infections.

A welfare ministry official said it is not known when the search for underwater remains can resume.

“We would need to take account of the risk of infections if we entered because the nation is an island country,” the official said. “Behavioral regulations, such as isolation for quarantine purposes, would be imposed, further delaying our retrieval program.”

Takayuki Suenaga, 73, a local who has been working as a tour guide for nearly 40 years, said sunken ships are popular diving spots among residents of Micronesia.

“Growing advances in technology have made it possible to stay underwater longer, enabling divers to look closely at the interior of ships,” Suenaga said. “At times, we locate human remains.”

He said the degraded vessels could collapse, which would make it much more arduous to spot and retrieve remains.

LIFT FATHER OUT IN THE SUN

Toshiro Matsuoka, 80, a resident of Okayama in western Japan, is still waiting for the remains of his father to be recovered from waters off the Chuuk islands.

His father, Chuzaburo, then 35, was a sergeant in the engineering unit of the Aikoku Maru that sank in 1944 in a U.S. air raid.

His body was not found in the Japanese government’s two rounds of recovery operations.

Toshiro said he was 2 months old when his father was called up for military service. He has since seen his father only in photos.

After Toshiro retired from work, he visited the Chuuk islands in 2015. Before his visit, Toshiro thumbed through 50 letters sent by his father from his workplace and elsewhere to his home.

The missives are marked by words suggesting the father always cared for his small son. Chuzaburo wrote about his sending a toy to Toshiro and warning his family not to scold him too much for his mischief.

“He (my father) desperately wanted to come home alive as soon as possible to hold and cherish me,” Toshiro said. “It is truly regrettable that he sank in the ocean without fulfilling his dream.”

During his visit, Toshiro took a boat ride and viewed the water where his father apparently rests.

His father is believed to have been in the engine room, which currently sits at a depth of 65 meters.

Toshiro asked a diver to offer a family photo and his favorite Peace-brand tobacco for Chuzaburo.

“I prayed he can rest in peace in solemn silence,” Toshiro said.

He thought the visit marked the end to his consoling the spirit of Chuzaburo, but he then heard that the government was resuming activities to retrieve remains.

“I want to bring him (my father) out in the sun,” he said.
He also expressed regret about the delay caused by the pandemic.

“All I can do is continue waiting,” he said.