THE old Japanese jail, abandoned and destroyed during World War II, could be a telling piece of the past, including the mystery involving the disappearance of famous American aviator Amelia Earhart.
But why has Marianas Visitors Authority seemingly overlooked the rich historical significance of the ruins that it allowed the area “to look like a junkyard?”
Ruins carry their own magic, but there should be a limit to prevent total deterioration, according to Robert York, an archeologist and former curator of the CNMI Museum of History and Culture.
“I think people like the look of the ‘ruins,’ but you don’t want your ruin to totally turn into deterioration and that’s what’s happening with the Japanese jail,” he said.
At one point, the old Japanese jail looked like a junkyard, he said.
“It was literally falling apart,” he said.
“Everybody is kind of proud of the Japanese jail. They put it on the map as a tourist attraction but they don’t do anything to maintain it,” he added.
Recently, the site was used as a storage area for line posts belonging to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
York, a long time resident of the CNMI, said MVA needs to restore the area, maintain it and promote it by “writing down” its significance for tourists.
“Every kind of potential attraction of this island is not just maintained and allowed to let go. What do you think tourists would think of that. There’s no interpretation about these places. So once you get there, you don’t know what these places are. Sometimes, you don’t even know you get there. It’s crazy. It’s ludicrous,” he said.
MVA, he said, could also capitalize on the Earhart story in promoting the Japanese jail ruins.
One of several theories on Earhart’s disappearance in 1937 indicated that when her Lockheed Electra plane crashed in the Pacific, Japanese soldiers captured her and brought her to Saipan.
Believing that she was a spy for the U.S. government, the Japanese supposedly detained her and tortured her in one of the cells of the old Japanese jail.
Now, 65 years after the crash, Earhart’s story remains one of America’s great mysteries and a subject of continuing searches.
York said he does not necessarily believe in the theory but “it’s a viable theory as many other theories right now.”
Unless proven otherwise, the story would remain an interesting part of the jail, he said.
MVA, for its part, said it has begun identifying potential attractions in the CNMI including key historical sites.
In a recent MVA board meeting, the board instructed newly appointed MVA Managing Director Jonas Ogren to closely work on the cleanup and rehabilitation of all tourist sites.
The old Japanese jail is located near the museum, which was formerly the Japanese hospital, in Garapan.
