In the case of bones and skulls found in the former mine in Japan, where the accident during the Second World War was also killed by Korean forced workers, these are human remains, the police confirmed on Wednesday. She was unable to determine whether they belong to one and the same person, nor the age or time of death. According to the AP report, TASR reports this.
- The police confirmed the human origin of the bones found in the former mine.
- Mine did not operated from 1914 to the accident in 1942.
- The 1942 accident required the lives of 183 workers.
- Groups collect historical documents and testimonies related to the mining tragedy.
- Japan used Korean workers during World War II.
The underwater mine in the prefecture of Jamaguč began operation in 1914. In February 1942, part of the ceiling of the mining shaft collapsed, leading to the mines flood.
This accident, which claimed the life of 136 Korean and 47 Japanese workers, had long been forgotten until in 1991 a group of citizens began to investigate – originally to build a memorial to the victims and preserve the former mining area, including the entrance and ventilation shaft. For years she collected testimonies and historical documents about the mine, and last year the underwater search for the remains of the victims began.
The police said the examination of three bones and skulls found by Korean divers this week in the former flooded mine confirmed that these are human remains. The Japanese Kizamu Kai group is convinced that they belong to the victims of the accident and that this discovery is a significant shift in its efforts to find other remains.
Japan used hundreds of thousands of Korean workers before the Second World War and during the historians, including those who were brought by violence from the Korean Peninsula, in Japanese mines and factories. They had to replace the lack of workforce, because most of Japanese men of working age sent to fight to Asia and the Pacific region.
Bone finding comes shortly after the weekend summit in Tokyo, where Japanese Prime Minister Šiger Išiba and South Korean President and Čemong met. Summit by AP showed friendly relations between the two countries and their cooperation in areas such as regional security and trade. However, leaders avoided the issues of the common history of both countries.
Išiba had previously found the war aggression of Japan and showed greater sympathy for Asian victims. Earlier this year, his government also gave his government to hear experts on how to safely carry out a search.
Kizama Kai continues to search in the mine at his own expense. Japanese Ministry of Health and Social Affairs that is in charge of the remains of the war period, It has been reluctant to help in funding.
Japanese government has been according to critics for a long time Relieves to discuss war atrocities, including sexual abuse and enslavement of Asian women, including those from the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese government insists that all issues of war reparations between Japan and South Korea were resolved under the 1965 normalization agreement.
