Photo/Illutration Remains interred in the underground ossuary of the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima are seen on July 16. (Jun Ueda)

HIROSHIMA—The city of Hiroshima opened the underground ossuary of the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound here to the media for the first time in a decade on July 16.

The remains of about 70,000 unidentified atomic bomb victims are interred at the ossuary, alongside the remains of 812 identified individuals whose families have not been found.

“We hope this will lead to the discovery of surviving family members,” a city official said.

The memorial mound site in the Peace Memorial Park was originally part of the grounds of a temple where many victims of the atomic bombing were cremated. The current memorial mound was built in 1955 by the city.

The ossuary is 2 meters high and 27 square meters in area.

The central altar is surrounded by shelves holding the remains. The unidentified remains are stored in wooden boxes or other containers, while identified remains have been placed in urns.

Of the 2,437 identified remains, 1,625 have been matched with their bereaved families and 1,002 of those returned to their families, while 623 were permanently interred in the ossuary at the request of their families.

In the past 10 years, bereaved families have been identified for six of the remains, including one newly confirmed this year.

The city has published the list of names of the interred individuals since 1968 and has sent it nationwide since 1985. The list is also available on the city’s official website.

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