旧日本兵遺骨 着実な収集こそ国の責務だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Oct. 10, 2011)
Govt must collect remains of soldiers in reliable way
旧日本兵遺骨　着実な収集こそ国の責務だ（10月9日付・読売社説）

Many bereaved families of the war dead must have been profoundly troubled to hear the news: The ashes from about 4,500 sets of remains that were collected in the Philippines and kept at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo are suspected to have been mixed with remains of people other than Japanese soldiers, according to investigations by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
　やりきれない思いで事態を受け止めた戦没者遺族も多いことだろう。
　フィリピンで収集され千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑に納められた遺骨約４５００柱に、旧日本兵以外の遺骨が混入した可能性があることが厚生労働省の調査で明らかになった。

Two years ago, the ministry commissioned the task of searching for and collecting the remains of Japanese soldiers who perished in the Philippines during World War II to a Japanese nonprofit organization.
　フィリピンでの遺骨収集は、２年前から日本のＮＰＯ法人に委託されていた。

DNA tests conducted on some of the remains before they were transported to Japan, however, showed about 50 percent of the bones may have been those of Filipinos.
ところが、日本に移送前の遺骨を抽出しＤＮＡ鑑定したところ、約５割はフィリピン人の遺骨らしいことが判明した。

The ministry says it will thoroughly revamp how remains are recovered, a process that has largely been left up to the private-sector body.
　厚労省は今後、半ば民間任せとなっていたフィリピンでの遺骨収集を全面的に改めるという。

About 2.2 million Japanese soldiers perished overseas during the war.
　先の大戦中、異国で亡くなった戦没者は約２２０万人に上る。

Remains of half of them have yet to be repatriated.
その半数の約１１０万人の遺骨がいまだ日本に帰還していない。

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Bones of Filipinos 'sold'

The collection of those remains is definitely the government's responsibility and must be done in a way that is beyond reproach.
　これらの遺骨収集は国の責務である。疑惑を招くことがないよう、着実な方法で収集作業を進めていくことが大事だ。

Collection in the Philippines was initially undertaken directly by the government, with officials from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry supervising the operations.
　フィリピンでの収集は、当初は国が直接行い、厚労省職員が立ち会った。

At one time, about 10,000 sets of remains a year were recovered in this manner, but the figure gradually dwindled to no more than 24 in fiscal 2005.
一時期は年間１万柱以上にのぼったが、次第に減少し２００５年度には２４柱となった。

Subsequently, the management of the search and collection project was delegated to the nonprofit organization. 　その後、現地に詳しいＮＰＯ法人に収集が委託された。

One reason for this was that many remains were left in mountainous regions with poor security conditions.
After delegating the operation to the NPO, the ministry began identifying Japanese soldiers' remains based on witness accounts of local residents and verification by local experts.
治安が悪い山岳地帯に遺骨が残されているためで、住民の証言や現地専門家の鑑定をもとに旧日本兵の遺骨と認定する方法に改めた。

Locals were paid cash for discovering remains.
遺骨の発見者には、労賃が支払われた。

Subsequently, the number of remains collected increased sharply, with 6,289 sets collected in fiscal 2010.
　収集される遺骨は急増し、昨年度は６２８９柱に上っている。

However, according to eyewitness reports, bones of Filipinos were being sold to the Japanese side.
　しかし、現地では「フィリピン人の骨を日本側に売った」という住民の証言が相次いだ。

There also were reports that graves of Filipinos were being robbed for the bones.
フィリピン人墓地が荒らされ、人骨が盗まれる事件もあったという。

Under the circumstances, it is very difficult to determine if the "discoverers" of remains were lying.
　現状では、遺骨の発見者がうその証言をしてもチェックは難しい。

The suspicion that remains of people other than Japanese soldiers have been collected and handed over to the government must be addressed.
旧日本兵以外の遺骨が引き渡されているという疑惑を、これ以上放置してはならない。

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Direct confirmation

The ministry says there is no firm evidence that repatriated Japanese soldiers' remains were mixed with those of Filipinos.
　厚労省は日本に帰還した遺骨にフィリピン人のものが混入している事実は確認できなかったとしているが、

But it cannot be denied that the way remains have been collected is highly problematic.
収集方法に大きな問題があったのは確かだ。

From now on, officials from the ministry and local experts in the Philippines will authenticate remains at the sites where they are found, according to the ministry.
　今後は厚労省職員とフィリピンの専門家が、遺骨発見現場を直接確認するという。

DNA profiling will also be conducted on remains, and discoverers will no longer be paid, the ministry says.
遺骨のＤＮＡ鑑定も行われる。発見者に、謝礼や労賃は支払われない。

The ashes of the 4,500 sets of remains that were earlier stored at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery dedicated to the war dead have been moved into the mortuary in the ministry's building.
　千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑にいったん納められた約４５００柱の遺骨は厚労省の霊安室に移された。

As the remains have already been cremated, however, it is very hard to conduct DNA tests on them.
だが、既に焼却されているためＤＮＡ鑑定による判定は困難だ。

To prevent such things from happening again, the government must exercise great care in future search and collection activities.
　このような事態が繰り返されることのないよう、慎重に収集を進めていかなければならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 9, 2011)
（2011年10月9日01時21分 読売新聞）