The Japan Association of Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties began an investigation into the burial site after the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry received the document from the group. The Japanese government began the recovery of approximately 2.4 million Japanese war dead in 1952, with an estimated 1.28 million brought home. Teikyo University Professor Kazufumi Hamai, who has knowledge of the process, detailed the importance of returning the dead to their homes, saying, “Collecting remains is increasingly important to pass on the memory of the war to coming generations and face the horrors of the war.