After a lifetime of searching, Jose Villafuerte this month finally found the Japanese father he lost during the dark years of World War II in the occupied Philippines.
The 82-year-old, a former gravedigger, was still in the womb of his Filipina mother, Benita Abril, when her partner, imperial army officer Ginjiro Takei, returned to Japan during its brutal occupation of the archipelago from 1942-45.
His quest ended this month, days before the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, after an advocacy group found Takei’s tomb in Japan, where he had raised a family following the war.
A living half-brother and half-sister were also found, with DNA swabs sealing the family ties.
“I’m excited. My mother had spent years trying to make this happen,” Villafuerte, a slightly built…
