Rare color photos of occupied Japan face being lost to time

SENDAI – Color photographs of when Japan was under Allied occupation are vanishing more than 70 years after U.S. service members captured vivid scenes that may hold lost pieces of history.

From 1945 to 1952, when Allied forces governed Japan after World War II, U.S. service members stationed in the country photographed postwar Japan on color film, which was still rare in the country.

Many of the photos are gradually being dispersed or lost over time, though some may contain historically significant scenes.