Gawain 0 #1 May 28, 2005 http://sg.news.yahoo.com/050526/1/3sq3q.html Friday May 27, 7:54 AM Japan to check if two ex-WWII soldiers are hiding in the Philippines Japan will send embassy officials in Manila to the Philippine island of Mindanao on Friday to meet two men who may be former Japanese soldiers who have been there since World War II, the foreign ministry said. "Embassy officials will check whether they were truly former soldiers" of the now-defunct army, said Hatsuhisa Takashima, the foreign ministry's press secretary. The meeting will take place in General Santos city, Mindanao, he added. Japanese media said the pair had been living in guerrilla-controlled mountains near the city until late this month. It is not known if they knew of Japan's surrender in August 1945 to Allied forces. Kyodo News agency, citing Japanese government sources, said the two men had contacted a Japanese national who was on the island collecting the remains of dead Japanese soldiers. The pair said they wanted to return to Japan. But the Sankei Shimbun daily said they were afraid of facing a court martial back home for deserting the frontlines. Japan was stunned in 1974 when former imperial Japanese army intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda was found living in the jungle on the Philippine island of Lubang. He did not know of Japan's surrender 29 years earlier. After being repatriated, Onoda emigrated to Brazil. Another former Japanese soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, was found on Guam in 1972. He returned home and died in 1997. What an amazing story. I first read a feed from Knight Ridder News Service on this story, but have found surprisingly little other coverage about it. From what else I read, these two still have living relatives in Japan. Wow. So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
