Kokichi Nishamura  144th Infantry Regiment

Wartime Service
Kohkichi Nishimura was a grenadier (knee mortar) in the 4th Squad of the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 144th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army. He landed at Gona on July 29, 1942 and made it all the way to Ioribaiwa and back to Giruwa at Sanananda. He escaped with his unit up the coast on January 12, 1943.

Search For War Dead
He left his family and life in Japan to move to Popondetta in the 1990s - 2000 in order to devote himself to finding the remains of his comrades and sending their bones back to Japan. Also he works with local villagers and makes donations to their infrastructure. Sometime after 2000, he retired back to Japan but continuted to travel to PNG.

References
Feild Guide to the Kokoda Track mentions Nishamura:
"The author "travelled 80 kilometres north of Tokyo" where "he lives with his daughter in a small house in a rural village". Unfortunately the town/village name is not mentioned. He is described as "Extremely alert, very friendly and willing to talk about any subject".