A former Imperial Japanese Army soldier has been found living in Ukraine, officials at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday.
Ishinosuke Uwano, 83, of Iwate Prefecture, was stationed on Sakhalin, Russia, at the end of World War II and now lives in Ukraine with his family, according to the officials.
Uwano is scheduled to visit Japan on Wednesday and reunite with relatives for the first time in more than 60 years.
According to the ministry, Uwano was born in 1922. He was seen on Sakhalin around 1958, but his whereabouts was unknown after that time. The government learned about Uwano from an acquaintance on Sakhalin and the Japanese Embassy in Kiev confirmed his identity in an interview, the officials said.
In 2000, Uwano was officially listed as having died in the war. The ministry is now taking steps to correct his family register.