In a letter to Toribiong, Takashima said that to date there are about 7,600 human remains have been collected and repatriated while about 2,600 human remains are yet to be collected from Peleliu State.
Takashima said it has been a “long time aspiration of the citizens’ of Japan” to see the soldiers finally rest in peace.In April 29, Kouichi Sakamoto, Director of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welafe of Japan and his team arrived in Palau for their mission to repatriate to Japan the remains of WWII Japanese soldiers.The team at the same time visited Peleliu Island to continue the Japanese government’s bone collection efforts.In that trip, the group visited three mass grave sites.The two governments, Takashima said is helping each other make “these things moving.”
