Government of Papua Province while taken a picture with Japan representative (Jubi)
Jayapura, 18/3 (Jubi) – The Japanese government is working with the Papua provincial government to repatriate the skeletons of Japanese soldiers who died in Papua during World War II.
“There are still over 20,000 Japanese soldiers’ skeletons in left Biak, Papua. The Japanese government and the Papua government will arrange the process of repatriation of the remains from World War II,” Japan’s deputy ambassador to Indonesia Junji Shimada told reporters after a meeting with Papua Governor Lukas Enembe in the governor’s office on Tuesday(18/3).
Japanese officials have visited Papua ten times to discuss the matter.
In November, the Indonesian government handed over the remains of 282 Japanese soldiers taken from Biak Numfor regency.
“The Japanese repatriation efforts is as a tangible tribute from the country and the people of Japan for their services,” Shimada said.
Enembe said Papua and Japan have historical ties and the cooperation is important.
“For us, this visit showed that how important Papua is to Japan, so it is necessary to develop friendship and cooperation,” he said.
Enembe also said he hoped that the cooperation could extend to other areas, including investment.
“As Papua governor I encourage the government of Japan to place invest more in Papua,” he said. (Jubi / Alex/Tina)
