Japan to start work to recover World War 2 soldiers' remains in Bangladesh

 There are graves of 43 Japanese soldiers in Cumilla, says the country's public broadcaster

Japan has taken an initiative to recover the remains of Japanese soldiers taken as prisoners of war to Bangladesh during World War Two.

The work is set to begin in November, NHK, the public broadcaster of Japan, reported yesterday.

Japan's welfare ministry said the soldiers were captured by British forces during the Battle of Imphal, in which the Imperial Japanese military sought to conquer British-controlled northeastern India.

The Japanese soldiers were taken to Bangladesh, where they died. The Japanese government learned through a field survey that there are 43 soldiers' graves in Cumilla.

In July this year, the Bangladesh government approved the recovery of the remains, NHK reports.

Japan plans to first send a team to Cumilla's Mainamati War Cemetery, where the remains of 24 soldiers are said to be buried, NHK reported.

The Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties, entrusted by the welfare ministry to conduct surveys of wartime remains, says the recovery work has been delayed due to worsening security in Bangladesh and the coronavirus pandemic.

It said it hopes to finally return the remains to their families, nearly 80 years after the end of World War Two.