The Japanese government has rejected a request by South Koreans to participate in searching for the remains of their family members who were forced to work for the Japanese military during the Pacific War, a Seoul civic group said Sunday.

Earlier, the Association for Requesting Compensation for the Pacific War Victims had asked Tokyo to let South Korean families take part in its project to find and excavate the remains of Koreans who were conscripted by the Japanese military during its colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. 

The association also had requested that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare conduct DNA tests on all remains that Japan finds to identify the soldiers. Some 22,000 Koreans are presumed to have been killed while serving for the Japanese military.

According to the association, the Japanese ministry sent an official reply in August that said "foreigners should participate in (excavation and repatriation) projects carried out by their own governments." 

The ministry also said that it will discuss the issue with the Seoul government only when the remains are presumed to be that of S. Koreans based on available documents and when the families want DNA tests, according to the association.  

The association said Sunday that the response constitutes a refusal by Tokyo to search for and excavate the remains that have not yet been found.

Japanese civic activist Furukawa Masaki criticized Tokyo's behavior, charging that Japan does not have the will to solve the issue and demanded that his country take responsibility for the war it caused.

"The Japanese government forcibly mobilized Koreans, saying that they are 'Japanese,' but now insists that the government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) should solve the issue by itself," Masaki was quoted by the association as saying. 

Millions of Koreans are believed to have been forcibly taken overseas for hard labor or military service during the colonization, with many dying or being injured there. A large number of remains of conscripted soldiers and laborers is believed to be scattered not only in Japan, but also in China, Russia and Southeast Asia. (Yonhap)