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75 years later, 1 million Japanese war dead still missing

People gather for the cremation ceremony for Japanese war dead in World War II, in Papua province, Indonesia, March, 2013. Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, more than 1 million Japanese war dead are scattered throughout Asia, where the legacy of Japanese aggression still hampers recovery efforts. The missing Japanese make up about half of the 2.4 million soldiers who died overseas during Japan's military rampage across Asia in the early 20th century. (Kyodo News via AP)
People gather for the cremation ceremony for Japanese war dead in World War II, in Papua province, Indonesia, March, 2013. Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, more than 1 million Japanese war dead are scattered throughout Asia, where the legacy of Japanese aggression still hampers recovery efforts. The missing Japanese make up about half of the 2.4 million soldiers who died overseas during Japan's military rampage across Asia in the early 20th century. (Kyodo News via AP) People gather for the cremation ceremony for Japanese war dead in World War II, in Papua province, Indonesia, March, 2013. Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, more than 1 million Japanese war dead are scattered throughout Asia, where the legacy of Japanese aggression still hampers recovery efforts. The missing Japanese make up about half of the 2.4 million soldiers who died overseas during Japan's military rampage across Asia in the early 20th century. (Kyodo News via AP)

By MARI YAMAGUCHI / The Associated Press 5 min read

TOKYO (AP) – Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, more than 1 million Japanese war dead are scattered throughout Asia, where the legacy of Japanese aggression still hampers recovery efforts.

The missing Japanese make up about half of the 2.4 million soldiers who died overseas during Japan’s military rampage across Asia in the early 20th century.

They are on remote islands in the South Pacific. They are in northern China and Mongolia. They are in Russia.

As the anniversary for the end of the Pacific War arrives Saturday, there is little hope these remains will ever be recovered, let alone identified and returned to grieving family members.

Only about half a million are considered retrievable. The rest are lost in the sea or buried in areas that can’t be reached because of fighting or security or political reasons, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which is in charge of support measures for bereaved families.