Remains of 13-year-old A-bomb victim returned to family

Japan News

The Hiroshima city government handed over the remains of a 13-year-old girl, which had been enshrined in the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound at Peace Memorial Park, to her family on Sunday.

Last year, the city conducted a DNA analysis on a lock of hair that had been kept with the remains for the first time and found it belonged to Hatsue Kajiyama, who died at age 13.

On Sunday, 12 of Kajiyama’s relatives observed a moment of silence at the memorial mound and received her remains.

“We can finally bring my aunt back to her family,” said her nephew Shuji, 60, who had requested the DNA testing.

Her younger sister Michiko Daimon, 92, held a bag containing an urn with the remains close to her chest and said: “It feels like a dream. My heart is full.”

The memorial mound houses urns containing the remains of about 70,000 people who were not identified or who were unclaimed.

In February, the city began checking the remains of 813 named individuals and confirmed that 52 of these urns contained hair. The city plans to conduct DNA testing upon request from bereaved families, which could lead to the return of more remains.