According to the National Police Agency, 223 of the 15,802 bodies found in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures after the Great East Japan Earthquake remained unidentified as of Sept. 5.
The identities of 2,814 bodies--about 20 percent--were confirmed through DNA examination. Police are utilizing traditional techniques as well as modern scientific methods to identify the bodies about 1-1/2 years after the disaster.
The identities of 15,576 bodies, or 98.6 percent of those found in the three prefectures as of Aug. 8, have been confirmed. Soon after the disaster, bodies were identified mainly through their physical characteristics. About six months after the disaster, it became difficult to identify bodies through examination, so police have had to rely more on DNA tests.
However, it was difficult for the police to secure DNA samples of missing people for verification, such as hair or oil left on combs, as most of the missing people's houses were washed away. Samples from only 120 missing people have been obtained from items left in houses.
Since May 2011, the NPA has beefed up efforts to secure DNA samples through other channels, such as asking the Japanese Red Cross Society to provide blood samples of missing people who had donated blood. The NPA also asked medical institutions to provide cells from missing people collected during biopsies.
For those who left no DNA samples, the NPA has collected cheek swabs from relatives of missing people in hopes of a DNA match. Combining the results with other clues, such as teeth and other bodily characteristics, the agency has succeeded in identifying some of the unidentified bodies.
Since May, the prefectural police headquarters of Miyagi and Iwate have released 96 sketches of dead people, which were drawn from pictures of the dead bodies. Many of the bodies' eyes were closed and their faces were damaged, but police artists recreated the faces as if they were alive. The sketches were decisive in identifying the bodies of 15 people.
In June, a man from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, was able to identify the body of his father-in-law, who was 79 years old when he was killed, from a facial sketch posted on a Miyagi prefectural police website.
"I visited the morgue where his body was many times, but I couldn't identify it and even seeing a picture didn't help. However, the facial sketch was identical to his face when he was alive," the man said.
A senior NPA official said: "People seem more comfortable looking at the sketches rather than shocking pictures of dead bodies. We can also alter the the sketches if we don't receive many tips."
About 1 million police officers--counting those who made multiple visits--from around the country have visited the three prefectures to search for those missing after the disaster. However, only 16 bodies were discovered in the six months up to Aug. 31. According to police, 2,925 people remain missing.
Friday 8 September 2012
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120907003565.htm
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