TOKYO - More than 80 years after his grandfather was killed fighting in the Philippines during World War II, Takahiro Kawaguchi finally made the journey to the battlefield where he died, fulfilling a long-held wish to pay his respects.
The 54-year-old Tokyo lawyer was among about 80 people who traveled to the Philippines in February under a Japanese government program that helps bereaved families visit places where their relatives lost their lives during the war.
His grandfather, Takeo Kawaguchi, from southwestern Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture, was killed in March 1945 near Ipo Dam on the island of Luzon, where Japanese troops fought U.S. forces.
At a site overlooking a dam believed to have been the scene of fighting, Kawaguchi and other members of his group set up a temporary altar, offered prayers and sang "Furusato" (Hometown), a well-known Japanese song.
"My grandfather's remains were never recovered, and I'd always wanted to visit the place where he died to pay my respects," Kawaguchi said.
"Of all the surviving members of my family, I'm the first to have finally made it there."
The visit was part of a memorial pilgrimage program run by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare that marks its 50th anniversary in fiscal 2026.
Launched in fiscal 1976 in response to requests from bereaved families, the program has recorded about 14,000 participant visits across 20 regions, including the Philippines, northeastern China, Russia and Mongolia.
Despite decades of efforts to recover the remains of Japanese war dead overseas, the task remains far from complete.
According to the welfare ministry, only about 1.28 million, or 53 percent, of the estimated 2.4 million Japanese who died overseas during the war have had their remains recovered.
In the Philippines alone, the remains of nearly 370,000 Japanese war dead have yet to be recovered, while about 200,000 remain in northeastern China, formerly known as Manchuria. Remains are also scattered across former battlefields in Southeast Asia and islands in the western Pacific.
Although the pilgrimage program has expanded to include grandchildren as well as spouses and children of the dead, the advancing age of bereaved families is raising questions about how much longer some will be able to make the journeys.
Among those who joined the February trip was Hiroshi Ito, 81, from Tokyo, who visited Masinloc on Luzon in the hope of getting closer to the place where his father died.
But he was unable to reach the offshore island where he had been told his father was killed.
"All I want is to bring my father's remains home," Ito said. "I was told he died on an island offshore, but I couldn't get there. I hope the government will do more to recover the remains."
He also called for information gathered during the pilgrimages to be used in efforts to locate and recover the remains of the dead.
The government currently covers about one-third of the travel costs, but the expense remains a significant obstacle for some bereaved families.
"Having to pay several hundred thousand yen is a heavy burden," Ito said. "I'd like the government to increase its support so that people like me living on a pension can take part."
While a pilgrimage to India is being held in fiscal 2026, planned trips to North Borneo and Uzbekistan were canceled because too few people applied, highlighting another challenge as the number of elderly family members able to travel dwindles.
Kazufumi Hamai, a professor of modern Japanese history at Teikyo University who specializes in issues involving Japan's war dead, said bereaved families had spent decades living with the pain of not knowing how their loved ones died or where their remains lay.
Their relatives had been sent to war under government policy and died tragic deaths, he said.
Many local associations supporting bereaved families are being forced to disband as their members grow older, making government assistance more important, he added.
"Recovering the remains is the government's responsibility, but memorial pilgrimages are just as important. The two must go hand in hand," Hamai said.
"The government needs to listen to what bereaved families want and do everything it can to meet their needs."
