The Japanese government announced that five sets of Ainu remains held at Britain's Natural History Museum will be returned in early 2026. This is the fourth repatriation of Ainu remains from abroad. Four sets were excavated in 1865 from towns in Hokkaido.
The Japanese government announced on November 29 that five sets of Ainu remains from the Natural History Museum in Britain will be returned to Japan. The repatriation is scheduled for early fiscal 2026, starting next April, when officials from the government and the Ainu Association of Hokkaido will travel to Britain to receive four of the sets. The remains were removed from Japan for purposes such as research.
The excavation sites for four sets are known: three from the town of Yakumo in Hokkaido and one from the town of Mori, both dug up in 1865 according to records. The origin of the fifth set remains unknown.
This will be the fourth repatriation of Ainu remains to Japan, following one set from Germany in 2017, four from Australia in 2023, and three from Edinburgh University in April this year. Upon return, the remains will be housed at a memorial facility in the National Ainu Museum and Park, known as Upopoy, in the Hokkaido town of Shiraoi.
Hitoshi Kikawada, the Japanese minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs in charge of Ainu issues, said at a news conference, "It will finally be possible to commemorate them in their homeland once they are returned." He added, "We would like to firmly proceed with the return process, while making sure that the pride of the Ainu people is respected."