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Published : 02 Dec 2025, 01:49 AM
The remains of Japanese soldiers who died during the Second World War have been exhumed from Chattogram Commonwealth War Cemetery and repatriated to Japan.
The remains were preserved according to proper procedures and will be handed over to family members once in Japan.
The soldiers, who died between 1942 and 1944, were buried together at the cemetery located on Badshah Mia Road.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) maintains and oversees cemeteries for those killed in the First and Second World Wars worldwide, including two sites in Bangladesh -- in Cumilla’s Mainamati and Chattogram city.
Hillol Sattar, country manager of CWGC in Bangladesh, said 19 Japanese soldiers were buried together at Chattogram cemetery, with 18 bodies recovered during the exhumation.
He added that 18 skulls and several bones were found at the site.
He noted that a 10-member specialist team nominated by the Japanese government took part in the operation. Excavation at the war cemetery ran from Nov 17 to Nov 26, and the remains were preserved immediately after recovery.
A media statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday said the remains were handed over to the Japanese authorities on Friday, following a guard of honour by a Bangladesh Army team.
It added that under government orders, the Chattogram region of the Army provided security and administrative support during the exhumation.
Retired Lt Col Sajjad Ali Zahir Bir Protik, led the excavation efforts.
HOW THE EXHUMATION WAS DONE
In November last year, the remains of 23 Japanese soldiers were exhumed from Mainamati Cemetery and returned to Japan.
Sattar said, “In 2016, the Japanese parliament passed a law to return the remains of soldiers killed in the Second World War. As part of this process, in 2024, the Japanese remains from Mainamati Cemetery were exhumed and taken to Japan.”
The recovered remains underwent DNA testing before being returned to family members in Japan.
Following the same process, 18 Japanese soldiers’ remains have now been exhumed from Chattogram cemetery.
The CWGC official added that the remains will be handed over to family members after DNA matching, while unidentified remains will be placed in a separate monument.
According to him, the 10-member team included excavation specialists, archaeologists and forensic experts. An American archaeologist with 50 years of experience also took part, alongside Bangladeshi expert Col Sajjad.
“The team initially used shovels to dig around three feet,” Sattar said. “Later, they manually dug between five and a half and six feet to locate skulls and bones.
The remains were formally handed over to the Japanese embassy after completion of the exhumation.
According to the Chattogram district administration, the cemetery was established by the British Army after the Second World War.
During the war, the Allied forces’ 14th Army set up a camp in Chattogram, including a hospital that operated from December 1944 to October 1945. Soldiers who died in the hospital were buried with respect at the cemetery.
Initially, 400 soldiers were buried under British supervision. Currently, the cemetery has 731 graves, including 17 unidentified bodies.
Among the graves, 378 are from the United Kingdom, 25 from Canada, nine from Australia, two from New Zealand, 214 from undivided India (Bangladesh, India and Pakistan), 11 from East Africa, 90 from West Africa, two from Myanmar, one from the Netherlands and 19 from Japan.
By profession, the cemetery includes 543 soldiers, 194 airmen and 14 sailors. In addition to wartime graves, there are four civilian graves at the site.
