Japan to release two crucial Netaji files

Japan will make public by the end of this year two classified files containing “crucial” information about India’s legendary independence struggle icon Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that Tokyo had conveyed to New Delhi that the Japanese Government had found altogether five files containing information about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Tokyo responded to a request by New Delhi to share with it the files, which the Japanese Government might have and which might be looked into for information that could help resolve the mystery surrounding his so-called death in a plane crash in 1945.

New Delhi made the request after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met some of Netaji’s family members at his official residence in New Delhi in October 2015, and promised not only to release the classified government files,



but also to request governments of other relevant countries to share information that could help resolve the mystery.

“Japan has five files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose which are going to be very crucial. They have decided to declassify two files by the end of this year. We are hopeful,” Rijiju told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, adding: “Three more files are there (with the Japanese Government) which they have not committed about yet. So, we are hopeful for those files also.”

Austria did not find any material related to Netaji. Russia, too, conveyed to India that it had no document pertaining to Netaji. The UK declassified 62 relevant files, all of which are now available in the British Library. Germany put all the files related to Netaji from 1945, in its archives and they can be seen by everyone. The US did not have any document related to Netaji.