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7-year-old girl missing since 3/11 disaster identified from bone fragments

14 Comments

Bone fragments found in contaminated debris from the town of Okuma in Fukushima Prefecture have been identified as belonging to a 7-year-old girl who went missing when the tsunami struck the area on March 11, 2011.

The bones of a human neck and chin were found on Dec 9 and a DNA test confirmed they belonged to Yuna Kimura, Fuji TV reported. Her scarf was also found. The rubble came from near her home which is still in a no-go zone, three kilometers from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Yuna's shoes were found in June 2012, but no other traces of her had been found since then.

Yuna's father Norio, 51, who now lives in Nagano Prefecture, was informed that his daughter's remains had been positively identified on Dec 22. He was quoted by local media as saying "I feel like I have received a Christmas present from my daughter."

Yuna was the only person from Okuma still missing since the disaster which also claimed the lives of her mother, 37, and grandfather, 77. Norio was unable to search for Yuna after being ordered to evacuate from the town on March 12, 2011.

He said the fact that his daughter's remains were near their home makes him feel like she has been calling out to him all the time, "I'm here."

The toll from the disaster in Fukushima Prefecture is currently 1,613 dead and 197 still missing.

© Japan Today

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14 Comments
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Sad it had to take 5 years but good for the dad, he can finally close that chapter.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Poor guy lost his wife, kid, and maybe father all on the same day. What a sad day. It doesn't say if he has any more children, but that would be on the only thing that would keep me living after that I think.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Well said Strangerland

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Very sad, but at least this way there is closure.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

197 still missing.

Great "lets host an Olympics in their memory" and to raise the spirits of the survivors.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It doesn't say if he has any more children

According to my local TV station which recently runs a collection of stories about the triple disasters on 3/11. He lost his father, wife and younger daughter on that day. His old daughter is alive. Thanks for DNA technology he can finally have closure.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

at least this way there is closure.

No disrespect Smith, but I never liked that word "closure". The pain will last forever

4 ( +4 / -0 )

No disrespect Smith, but I never liked that word "closure". The pain will last forever

I don't think closure refers to an ending of the pain, it's a reference to the ending of not knowing what happened to the person.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"closer" refers to not to wait for her with cooked meal and to accept the fact that she died.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Sad it had to take 5 years but good for the dad, he can finally close that chapter.

Not for him, he said he wants to keep searching until he finds all of her.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Man, what a sad story. :(

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I'm very sad for her and her father, but it's a good news for him. Rest In Peace Yuna san!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So sad for everyone in Japan..

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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