Taipei: A Japanese group on Monday began excavating near Pingtung County's decommissioned No. 3 Nuclear Power Plant in search of the remains of Japanese soldiers who died during World War II. The effort is being spearheaded by the Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties (JARRWC), with support from local residents and Japanese cultural historian Kazuko Tachi, who resides in Taiwan. According to Focus Taiwan, the excavation is situated outside the plant's water discharge outlet and is supported by the Kenting National Park Headquarters, Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower), and the Pingtung County government. Chiu Hung-lin, director of National Tsing Hua University's Institute of Anthropology and an associate professor, is advising the search. The remains are believed to belong to Japanese soldiers whose transport ship was sunk by U.S. forces during World War II, with bodies potentially washing ashore near the current site. Tatsuaki Inoue, an official with the JARRWC, informed reporters that the 12-day excavation will be followed by anthropological examinations to ascertain if the remains belong to Japanese soldiers. Inoue expressed deep sympathy for the families of the deceased and hopes for repatriation of the remains. He conveyed gratitude towards the Taiwanese people for their empathy and support, emphasizing the importance of learning from historical conflicts as wars persist globally. Kazuko Tachi began her search for the remains seven years ago and reached out to JARRWC three years prior. She recounted that in 1944, transport ships, including the Tamatsu Maru, were sunk by U.S. forces in the Bashi Channel, with only 65 survivors out of more than 4,800 individuals on board. The sea eventually carried the bodies to the Hengchun Peninsula, and oral accounts from local elders suggest that some remains might be among coastal rocks near the nuclear plant's discharge outlet. A local volunteer assisting with the excavation shared that her grandfather, as a child, witnessed the aftermath of the s hipwreck, including locals aiding survivors and burying the deceased. She emphasized that the incident is part of a shared history between Taiwan and Japan, advocating for moving beyond past animosities to acknowledge the humane aspects of history.
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