America returned 22 artefacts looted after the Battle of Okinawa to Japan, this decision was taken after a long investigation

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States has returned to Japan twenty-two historical artifacts that were looted after the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. A family in Massachusetts finds ancient artifacts among their late father’s personal belongings. Agents from the FBI’s Boston office revealed that the looted artifacts were returned after a lengthy investigation, which began with a call from a family who discovered the items in their deceased father’s belongings.

According to the FBI, the father was a World War II veteran who did not participate in the Pacific Theater. Addressing a press conference, Jeffrey Kelly, art crimes coordinator for the FBI’s Boston Field Office, said there were some scrolls, some pottery shards, an ancient map. They looked old and valuable. Recognizing the importance of the artifacts, the Massachusetts family did some investigating and discovered that at least the scrolls had been entered into the FBI’s National Stolen Art File nearly 20 years earlier.

All you need to know about artifacts

22 artefacts, including six painted scrolls from the 18th and 19th centuries, were reported missing for nearly 80 years. They hold significant importance in the history of Okinawa. Other items included a nineteenth-century hand-drawn map of Okinawa, as well as numerous pottery and ceramics. According to the FBI, a typed letter discovered among the remains contributed to establishing that the artifacts were stolen in the final days of World War II.