A civic group has called on the government to conduct DNA examinations on some human bones recovered recently from a western Japan undersea mine where fatal flooding occurred during the Pacific War, part of World War II.
On Tuesday, the group, which is working to recover the remains of the victims of the accident more than 80 years ago, including those from the Korean Peninsula, asked government agencies to identify the bones through DNA analyses and provide financial assistance for the group's efforts to collect more remains from the Chosei coal mine in the city of Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
On Feb. 3, 1942, a tunnel about a kilometer from the entrance of the mine, which was opened in 1914 on the coast of Seto Inland Sea, collapsed and was flooded, claiming the lives of 47 Japanese workers and 136 from the Korean Peninsula.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.