August 24, 2010
A memorial service was held at a Tokyo temple for Koreans who died in or shortly after World War Two while serving the former Japanese military.
Yutenji temple held the ceremony on Tuesday for people from the Korean Peninsula who died in Japan, Southeast Asia, and China as servicemen and civilian employees of the Japanese military.
The temple keeps the remains of 702 Koreans that have not been returned to their homeland in the 65 years after the war. The remains include those of people that died when a Japanese transport ship sank off Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, on its way to the Korean Peninsula shortly after the war.
81-year-old Kazuichi Onodera was on board the ship as a 16-year-old radio operator. He said he offered a prayer to the dead, as a survivor of the sinking.
A female college student said she was surprised that the remains are still kept at the temple 65 years after the war. She said she hopes to contribute in some way to help return the remains to their homeland as soon as possible.
2010/08/24 21:57(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
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