As of March 2025, Japan had tested DNA from 7,026 sets of World War II-era remains recovered in the country and overseas. (Pixabay)

TOKYO — Human remains discovered on Okinawa in 2004 have been identified as those of a Japanese soldier, marking the first time DNA alone was used to confirm the identity of a casualty from the Battle of Okinawa.

A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare confirmed the identification by phone Tuesday, but declined to provide further details at the family’s request.

The remains were matched in March to one of 1,818 DNA samples submitted by families of those who died in the World War II battle, a ministry spokeswoman said last month.

Recovered in Nishihara, the remains are still in government custody, an official from the ministry’s war dead identification section said by phone Tuesday. Some Japanese officials speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

It’s the first time Japan has identified Okinawa battle remains without the help of personal belongings or eyewitness accounts. The ministry began using DNA analysis in 2003 and has since identified only seven sets of remains from Okinawa, according to official data.

The Battle of Okinawa — fought from April to June 1945 — left more than 14,000 American service members, approximately 110,000 Japanese troops and at least 140,000 Okinawan civilians dead. More than 187,000 sets of remains have been recovered in the decades since, according to the ministry’s website.

As of March, the ministry had tested DNA from 7,026 sets of WWII-era remains recovered in Japan and overseas. Between 2017 and 2023, DNA was tested from 600 remains found on Okinawa. The number tested since then has not been made public.