Recreation Bay, on the eastern edge of Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, is pictured Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The skeletal remains of an unidentified person were found in water Wednesday near the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet.
The discovery was made near the shoreline of Recreation Bay on the base’s eastern quadrant, Yokosuka spokesman Randall Baucom told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. The bay is near a seaside playground, sports fields and several housing towers.
Baucom declined to say who found the remains.
Navy Security contacted Japanese police and the Japan coast guard, who recovered the remains and took over the investigation, Baucom said. He referred additional questions to Japanese authorities.
Base officials around 7:30 a.m. notified the Japan coast guard about the body, which appears to have been a man around 5 feet, 11 inches tall, a Yokosuka Coast Guard Office spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.
The remains had no clothing or other belongings that could lead to identification, the spokesman said, but investigators believe the man died approximately three months ago.
The Japan coast guard will attempt to identify the remains, he added. Some Japanese government officials are required to speak with the media only on condition of anonymity.
Such discoveries are not unheard of near the base, which hosts several protected bays and inlets near the mouth of Tokyo Bay.
Sailors aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam were anchored in Tokyo Bay when they found a floating body in October 2021. It was handed over to the Japan coast guard, which identified the person but declined to provide further details.
