Takamatsu Gushiken explains that the fragment in the middle is human bone while the two other pieces in his hand are limestone. (Shinichi Fujiwara)
Disturbing signs are emerging that human remains from the ferocious 1945 Battle of Okinawa might be mixed with soil landfill for a massive reclamation project for a U.S. military base in the nation s southernmost prefecture.
The battle that marked the U.S. invasion of the main islands of Japan left about 200,000 Japanese and Americans dead. It is estimated that a quarter of Okinawa s civilian population perished in the conflict.
Seventy-six years after the end of the fighting, Okinawa prefectural authorities estimate that the remains of about 2,790 people remain buried and unaccounted for.