Issues of Historical Memory in the Humanitarian Agenda of Kazakhstan and Japan

Tokyo, May 23, 2025 – Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Japan Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev met with Arimitsu Ken, Head of the “Support and Documentation Center for Japanese Internees in the USSR”.

Arimitsu Ken informed about the repatriation of the remains of Japanese soldiers subjected to forced labor in Kazakhstan after World War II. 58,900 Japanese soldiers were exiled to Kazakhstan, around 50,000 of them ultimately returned to Japan.

He stated that the remains of 188 Japanese soldiers have been sent home thus far, and thanked Kazakhstan for its cooperation in investigating the causes of death, locating burial places, and completing forensic identification procedures. Arimitsu Ken highlighted the low death rate (2.5%) in labor camps in Kazakhstan.

Ambassador Baudarbek-Kozhatayev drew the interlocutor’s attention to Kazakhstan’s careful treatment of burial sites and the issue of preserving the historical memory of Japanese internees, noting that Kazakhstan has received over 30 delegations of experts and internee relatives, as well as 4 large government missions. Memorial monuments to the deceased Japanese internees have been erected at Almaty, Astana, Karaganda, Zhezgazgan, and Kentau.

On the 80th Anniversary of the end of World War II, the parties discussed a series of events in this July dedicated to the fate of Japanese prisoners of war in Kazakhstan, including a historical and documentary exhibition and lectures, as well as a screening of the Kazakhstan-Japanese films “Little Samurai” and “Ahiko from Aktas” directed by Shinju Sano, who attended the meeting.