Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead hosted by the “Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties
2025/12/13
On 13th December, "Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead hosted by the “Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties" was held at the Kakabona Village Memorial Monument.
This ceremony was attended by approximately 30 people in total including members of the Japanese remains collection team (Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties(leader); Japan War-Bereaved Association; All Japan Solomon Association; Japan-Youth-Memorial-Association; Public Interest Legal Non-Government Organization Taiyoukai; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) from Japan, and some staff from the Honiara City Council Health Department and supporters of remains collection from Solomon Islands.
In his speech, Ambassador HIGUCHI expressed his respect for the activities of the Japanese remains collection team, who have made great efforts over many years to discover and repatriate remains, and expressed his gratitude to the Solomon Islands stakeholders (Honiara City Council, National Museum, Police Department, landowners in the survey area) who have cooperated throughout these activities. He then mentioned that Mr Francis Deve, Mr Willie Besi, and Mr Mato Mui Liliau were recently awarded decorations and the Foreign Minister's Commendation in recognition of their long-standing achievements in the remains collection project, and stated, "As an embassy, we will continue to support their future activities."
This ceremony was attended by approximately 30 people in total including members of the Japanese remains collection team (Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties(leader); Japan War-Bereaved Association; All Japan Solomon Association; Japan-Youth-Memorial-Association; Public Interest Legal Non-Government Organization Taiyoukai; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) from Japan, and some staff from the Honiara City Council Health Department and supporters of remains collection from Solomon Islands.
In his speech, Ambassador HIGUCHI expressed his respect for the activities of the Japanese remains collection team, who have made great efforts over many years to discover and repatriate remains, and expressed his gratitude to the Solomon Islands stakeholders (Honiara City Council, National Museum, Police Department, landowners in the survey area) who have cooperated throughout these activities. He then mentioned that Mr Francis Deve, Mr Willie Besi, and Mr Mato Mui Liliau were recently awarded decorations and the Foreign Minister's Commendation in recognition of their long-standing achievements in the remains collection project, and stated, "As an embassy, we will continue to support their future activities."