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<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I’ve been very much concerned about Ioto
since my first visit to the island four years ago．</c>

00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:03.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>That is why I organized a team，
the first task force team in my Cabinet，</c>

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<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>for recovering and collecting the remains
of the war dead there．</c>

00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:31.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>The scale of the recovery project had
reduced significantly since around 1998．</c>

00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:39.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>The survivors and I used to go inside
the dugouts in the island to recover</c>

00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:45.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>the remains until we had excavated
all of the dugouts．</c>

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<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I was instructed to go to the United States．</c>

00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>The Prime Minister said the US National
Archives must have documents on Ioto．</c>

00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:35.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>He looked in my eyes convincingly and
gave me a clear instruction to start</c>

00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:40.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>with scientific research and collection
of documents．</c>

00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:10.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I was really astonished．
We started excavating the area in October，</c>

00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:18.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>and within a short time period， we have already
identified two sites with numerous unrecovered remains．</c>

00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:25.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>Without the instruction of Prime Minister Kan，who was
convinced of the existence of documents on cemeteries，</c>

00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:30.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>we would never have discovered these sites．</c>

00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:44.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>The Prime Minister told me on August 10 of this year
that documents on cemeteries were found．</c>

00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:51.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I really couldn’t believe it．
As a bereaved family member，</c>

00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:59.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I really thank the Prime Minister for
starting the search in the released information，</c>

00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:06.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>finding the documents，
and bringing about results．</c>

00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>Sixty-five years is a long time to wait．
I am truly sorry．</c>

00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>It was worth waiting for．</c>

00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>With this discovery，
they can now return home．</c>

00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>Yes，indeed．</c>

00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:43.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I just happened to hear Prime Minister Kan
say that politicians’failure to act has kept</c>

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<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>some 10，000 remains of the war dead
unrecovered in Ioto．</c>

00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:57.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>It seemed that the Prime Minister strongly
resented the inaction of politicians，</c>

00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:04.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>including himself，questioning why they haven’t
carried out a responsibility of the government．</c>

00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:25.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>“My dear Tako， your father wants
you to grow up quickly and</c>

00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:30.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>be a source of support for your mother．</c>

00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:38.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>Keep yourself healthy， study hard，
do as your mother tells you，</c>

00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:43.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>and put your father’s heart at ease．”</c>

00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:49.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>Those who have fought to the death were
 fathers who protected their families，</c>

00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:56.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>good husbands， and sons carrying
promising futures， before they were soldiers．</c>

00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:04.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I pledge here that we will examine every grain
 of sand and spare no effort to bring</c>

00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:11.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>about the recovery of the remains
of even one more among the deceased．</c>

00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:19.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I myself unearthed some remains．</c>

00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:31.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>When I saw and actually touched them，
I felt something strongly．</c>

00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:41.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I thought if the remains had been
collected more promptly，</c>

00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:51.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>we could have returned them
home to their families earlier．</c>

00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:13.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I would like to see for myself my father’s
remains and welcome him back home．</c>

00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:19.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>That is the strongest desire
I have as a child．</c>

00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:32.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>Thank you． We are almost 80， so this
should be the last duty for our parents．</c>

00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:40.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I hope that younger generations
will learn more about this．</c>

00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.000 line:98%
<c.vttBottom.vttWhite>I really respect your endeavors．</c>