DNA analysis was used to identify 2,383 disaster victims in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, a survey by the National Police Agency said Thursday.
After finding it difficult to identify victims, most of whom died in the March 11 tsunami and whose bodies were not recovered until much later, police started collecting DNA samples from more than 7,000 family members of the missing victims and putting the data into a database.
According to the NPA, the number of victims found in the three prefectures, which bore the full brunt of the quake and tsunami, totaled 15,773 as of Dec. 11, with 15,104 successfully identified.
Of the 2,383 victims subject to DNA analysis, physical traits, teeth and personal belongings, such as driver's licenses, were used to help identify 2,245 of them. The other 138 were identified purely by DNA analysis conducted with samples of hair or other tissues, the agency said.
Helped by about 500 medical examiners and other officers sent from across the country in the immediate aftermath of March 11, about 1,500 officers teamed up in the area to identify the victims.
Police in the three prefectures also posted physical traits, belongings and other information about unidentified victims on their websites, while police stations displayed photos taken in morgues so family relatives could search for missing loved ones.
Nearly 10 months have passed since the disasters, but the three prefectural police departments plan to continue their search for the missing.
In Fukushima Prefecture, police conducted a search Thursday in the town of Namie, most of whose residents evacuated to escape the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Since 669 victims have yet to be identified, a Miyagi Prefectural Police official said that while DNA tests for such a large number of people is unusual, they would try to identify more victims to return the remains to their families.