"It is estimated that the remains of 20 thousand to 53 thousand Japanese soldiers who died during World War II are still buried across several districts in Papua," Rumbino said.
Sentani, Papua (ANTARA News) - The Japanese government plans to repatriate the remains of Japanese World War II dead still to be found in several parts of Papua province, a local tourism official said.

The Japanese government had formed a team to handle the repatriation and it was scheduled to meet the Indonesian government in Jakarta next March, Ch Wim Rumbino, head of Papua`s tourism and culture office, said here Friday.

"It is estimated that the remains of 20 thousand to 53 thousand Japanese soldiers who died during World War II are still buried across several districts in Papua," Rumbino said.

He identified the districts as Biak, Serui and Jayapura but there were also Japanese soldier remains in waters off Papua`s northern coasts.

The plan to repatriate the bones of the Japanese war dead from papua was agreed on at a meeting of the two countries` leaders in July 2011, he said.

Rumbino said the repatriation of the bones of the Japanese war dead would be carried out by the Japanese government in cooperation with Indonesia`s central and regional governments and the local communities.

Some of the remains of Japanese war dead had already been taken back to Japan in 2008, Rumbino said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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