Indonesia transfers remains of 115 WWII Japanese soldiers to

Details about those listed as missing or killed in the Pacific, including current search operations.

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Shaharom
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Indonesia transfers remains of 115 WWII Japanese soldiers to

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JAKARTA, Nov. 6 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Indonesia transferred to Japan on Tuesday the remains of 115 Japanese soldiers who died during World War II in what is now Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, the state-run news agency Antara reported.

Adrianus Kafiar, vice regent of the Biak Numfor Regency, represented the Indonesian government in handing over the cremated remains to a representative of the Japanese government on Papua's Biak Island.

"In the name of the Japanese government and the families of the Japanese soldiers, we would like to say thank you," Antara quoted the Japanese government's representative Masahiro Sasaki as saying.

The transfer has raised opposition from some local residents who fear it will reduce visits by Japanese tourists to Biak.

"If all remains of Japanese soldiers are taken away, in the next few years there will be nothing to attract tourists to Biak," lamented one such resident.

Biak, a 2,455-square-kilometer island located in Geelvink Bay off the northwestern coast of New Guinea, is known for its extensive caves in which about 10,000 Japanese soldiers lived during the war -- about half of whom were killed by bombs dropped by the Allies.

In World War II, it hosted a strategic airfield and served as a base for Japanese operations in the Pacific theater. U.S. forces captured the island during the Battle of Biak in May and June of 1944.




Shaharom Ahmad
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