Remains of 23 People Recovered from Pacific War Ship in Micronesia; IJN Destroyer Oite Sank with 640 Aboard in February 1944

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, December 1, 2025

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA — The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, in an operation held from late September to early October, recovered the remains of almost two dozen Pacific War casualties from a Japanese military ship which sank off the Chuuk Islands, about 3,000 kilometers south of Japan, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The islands, formerly known as the Truk Islands, are now part of the Chuuk State of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Over eight days, the remains of 23 people were recovered from the Oite, an Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer that sank on Feb. 18, 1944, after being attacked by U.S. carrier-borne aircraft. About 640 officers and military men are believed to have been aboard.

The ministry conducted this recovery, the first operation on and around the Oite in 31 years, after a video depicting some of the remains on the ship was posted to the internet, which it saw as a problem. The remains will be brought back to Japan and DNA testing will be used to determine their identities.