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Information has surfaced that bones of 187 human bodies were discovered in the preparation phase before construction began on the National Stadium which will be used in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Construction on the stadium is scheduled to end in December 2019.
According to a report from TV Asahi TV, the 187 bodies, which comprised both men and women and ranged from infancy to advanced ages, were discovered between 2013 and 2015 during the preparation phase of the stadium's construction. The bodies are believed to have been buried in the graveyard of a Buddhist temple which previously existed at the construction site from 1732 to 1919.
According to Kenichi Shinoda, Anthropology Research Director at the National Museum of Nature and Science: "Over the last ten years or so, with big development projects and the Olympics, human bones have been unearthed at a rapidly growing rate, and we haven't been able to keep up."
This year alone, bones of nearly 1,000 human bodies were discovered at another construction site.
Experts say that such human remains are invaluable for research since they can provide insight into Edo period lifestyles. The Ministry of Culture plans to include the construction of a storage facility for human remains in next year's budget appropriation request.
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23 Comments
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shogun36
187 = murder death kill
187 bones seem appropriate
Aly Rustom
with the following theme song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssN2_B7351U
mike1492
Rebury with respect.
GW
Starting in 2020 instead of Shibuya the big Halloween party should move to the new stadium!
englisc aspyrgend
Toasted Heretic is right, most large development projects in large cities, especially ones with a long history, turn up lots of archeology. Instead of hiding it they should have made a feature of it, showing Tokyo residents their history and so involving them in the project.
Toasted Heretic
Relax, folks. This happens all the time.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23827627/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/iron-age-bones-found-olympic-site-london/
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-skeletons/ancient-mass-grave-found-on-olympics-site-idUKTRE55B2TH20090612
sensei258
Isn't that how the Poltergeist movie started? This should be an interesting Olympics.
TheLongTermer
Wonder how many of these bodies found were decapitated people due to rival samurai raids. These sites are occasionally unearthed here in Japan.
Sami Shlimon
I'm very surprised that engineering company did not do any land survey before starting the construction and causing delay, disappointed.
gogogo
Construction site? There used to be another stadium there!
BakabonPapa
Great - a haunted stadium!
proxy
Dig a hole anywhere in Japan and some kind of archeology is unearthed.
rainyday
Perhaps this would explain why the Olympics seem to have been cursed so far.
GW
Yep, stadium BUILT, "news" released...….control indeed!!
Aly Rustom
Mate, I agree with you. I was just being sarcastic. Cheers!
Bugle Boy of Company B
But!! If some enviro-terrorist finds out that the endangered small tortoiseshell butterfly likes to eat sap from trees on your property, your entire construction project will be shut down with threat of jail if you violate the order.
since1981
Not Japan bashing at all. I'm not Japanese so it is not my place to bash it. Perhaps there was a logical reason for not reporting it.
kwatt
No wonder. Many people may be living above the cemetery which used to be there a long time ago.
since1981
This is coming out 6 years after first discovered. Now that is a clear example for controlling the media. No freedom of the press here. Would love to know how they kept the ones who made the discovery quiet for so long.
Yubaru
But the discovery did nothing to stop the construction did it? And all along here I thought there was a law that prevented any construction from moving along when it came across any potential archaeological sites?
Least wise that was one of the excuses used down here in Okinawa when remains were found at a US Military site, and it held up the return of the property for at least a decade!