The remains of a victim of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake were returned to a relative Thursday, nine years and four months after the disaster.
Kiu Abe of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, then 99, went missing in the tsunami caused by the earthquake and her body was found two months later. However, since the body was badly damaged, many DNA tests had to be conducted to identify the person. A relative, who has been looking for her remains, said that he had not expected that her remains would be located.
Abe's body was found more than 10 kilometers away from her home in the disaster's debris at a bay in the city. The Miyagi prefectural police estimated where the person had lived based on the location where the body was found as well as additional information. However, as more than 300 people fell victim to the disaster around Abe's home it was difficult to establish who it was. Furthermore, it was difficult to identify the body by using Abe's DNA since she did not have a child. Eventually, the body was identified as Abe by using a composite drawing based on the body's skeletal framework in addition to DNA tests of multiple relatives.
Her nephew, Kazuyuki Kanno, 79, received her remains from a municipal government official. After the disaster, he had visited a morgue to look for Abe. His mother, and Abe's younger sister Taeko, also died in the tsunami at age 97. In June 2011, Kanno held a funeral for his mother and aunt and has continued to mourn them since then.
Abe was the oldest of the 10 brothers and sisters. After her husband died 60 years ago, she lived alone. Kanno, who lived in her neighborhood, visited her home two or three times a month to try and help her do household chores, but Abe refused his offer saying, "I'm okay." After placing his aunt's ashes in the tomb, Kanno said, "My aunt finally came to a place where she feels safe."
There is a total of seven bodies whose identities are unknown due to the earthquake.
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