## Memorial Services for the War Dead

## Overview Outline of Memorial Services for the War Dead

Memorial Services for the War Dead
Memorial Ceremonies for the War Dead
A Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead has been held annually on August 15 at the Nippon Budokan since FY1963 as a national event to console the souls of the war dead.
In addition, a Worship Ceremony has been held at the Chidorigafuchi War Dead Cemetery every spring since FY1964 to put the remains to rest that have been recovered abroad but cannot be delivered to their bereaved and then collectively worshipped.
Recovery of the Remains of War Dead, etc.
Teams to collect the remains of Japanese war dead have been sent to former major battlefields since FY1952. As of the end of March 2014 approximately 1.27 million remains of 2.40 million war dead abroad (including those in Iwo Jima and Okinawa) have been collected.
In addition, focused efforts to collect information on unrecovered remains abroad have been made in cooperation with private organizations, etc. that are well informed about the local situation to facilitate their future recovery.
DNA Profiling Projects on the Remains of War Dead Abroad and Delivery of the Remains, etc.
DNA profiling has been conducted at national expense when certain conditions are met, including cases where the deceased and the bereaved family can be reasonably identified from documentations/records, etc., and the identified remains then delivered to the bereaved family.
Belongings of the deceased have also been delivered via investigations.
Pilgrimages for Memorial Services and Visits to Burial Sites
The national government has systematically held pilgrimages composed mainly of bereaved families since FY1976 to conduct memorial services for the war dead at former major battlefields, on the ocean, and in other areas where collecting any remains is impossible.
Friendship and Goodwill Memorial Services
Because of the point of view that children of the war dead are also war victims, similar to the people living in areas that were the sites of major battlefields during the war, friendship and goodwill memorial services have been conducted since FY1991 at the aforementioned sites in thus holding memorial ceremonies for the war victims and to pledge a commitment to a permanent state of peace.
Maintenance/management of Monuments to the War Dead

Appropriate maintenance and management of monuments to the War Dead erected in the center of each former major battlefield have been conducted, and small-scale monuments also erected in the former Soviet Union.

Detailed Data 1 Recovery of Remains of War Dead

(Unit: remain)

Region	FY2008	FY2009	FY2010	FY2011	FY2012	FY2013
The former Soviet Union (detention)	307	95	219	296	97	115
Mongolia (Nomonhan)	24	30	14	129	4	5
Sakhalin	3	—	4	—	2	8
The Philippines	1,230	7,740	6,289	—	1	1
Myanmar	—	—	—	7	—	—
India	—	—	—	9	—	—
Eastern New Guinea	114	415	214	171	98	202
Bismarck Archipelago/Solomon Islands	146	102	165	280	298	159
Iran Jaya	108	291	216	—	134	1,433
Indonesia (excluding Iranian Jaya)	—	10	—	—	—	—
Saipan/Tinian	—	49	1	575	202	12
Guam	—	3	8	—	5	—
Hawaii	0	0	0	0	1	—
Palau	—	2	11	6	8	—
Marshall Islands	—	4	—	7	—	—
Kiribati	—	—	5	—	—	—
Wake Island	—	—	1	—	3	—
Okinawa	80	173	128	159	103	262
Iwo Jima	26	51	822	344	266	166
Others	0	0	0	0	1	2
Total	2,038	8,965	8,097	1,983	1,223	2,521

Source: Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau, MHLW