Japanese Identification Tags

[insegnante]

Good Afternoon, 

Can any one translate these ID Tags for me?

Thanks,

Insegnante

 

[SteveM]

Hello Sergio,

Unlike US dog tags, Japanese dog tags do not carry the names of the person to whom they belong. They carry the number of the division and an indication of what branch/section the person belonged to, and a number.

The tags above say:

left one: 3489, Number 45

right one: 3488, Number 35

[insegnante]

Hello SteveM,

Thank you very much for your translation. How did they know who was missing in action if there was no name on the ID Tag that the soldier wore into battle?

Thanks,

Sergio

[SteveM]

I think the numbers on the tag correspond to a specific section, and a specific soldier. So the Japanese government/military would have known who the tag belonged to. And presumably, those records still exist in Japan, but as far as I know there is no public database where you can look up names and numbers. 

[insegnante]

Hi Steve,

 

I thank you very much for the information that you provided for me. Every time I get on this site to ask questions the people are so kind and friendly it really amazes me. 

 

Respectfully,

Sergio