Kyoto District Court dismisses lawsuit calling for return of remains to Okinawa

Kyoto District Court dismisses lawsuit calling for return of remains to Okinawa

A group of plaintiffs and lawyers enter the courthouse before the decision (April 21, Kyoto District Court)


April 21, 2022       Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On April 21, the Kyoto District Court handed down their decision to reject a lawsuit seeking the return of Ryukyuan remains in the possession of Kyoto University. The suit was brought by a group including Professor Yasukatsu Matsushima of Ryukoku University. The plaintiffs demanded the return of remains that have been in Kyoto University’s possession since being taken from burial sites such as the Mumujana Tomb in Nakijin at the beginning of the Showa Period.

 

The plaintiffs asserted that when a group of anthropologists took the remains in 1930, they did so “completely without the consent or permission of anyone connected with the graves,” and so Kyoto University does not have the right to keep the remains. The plaintiffs demanded the remains be returned based on the Civil Code and the Constitution of Japan, as well as international human rights law. The plaintiffs include descendants of the First Sho Dynasty, in addition to Professor Matsushima.

 

In response, representatives of Kyoto University called for the plaintiff’s suit to be dismissed, saying that their argument “does not establish the plaintiffs’ right to demand the return of the remains.”

 

(English translation by T&CT and Ellen Huntley)

 

 

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