MANILA, PHILIPPINES: A Japanese man was carrying the bones of up to 100 people wrapped in bags in his van when he was stopped at a checkpoint in Manila, police in the Philippines capital said Tuesday (May 12th).

They want state prosecutors to file criminal charges against Kazuya Tomita, who was detained on April 25 after police inspected his van.

Inside they found the skulls and other bones wrapped in white sheets and packed into bags.

Local media said they may be the remains of Japanese soliders killed during World War II.

News of the case emerged only this week after Tomita was handed over into the custody of the Japanese embassy, said Susan Asia, spokeswoman for Manila police.

She said police had asked prosecutors to lay criminal charges against him for violating laws on sanitation and the preservation of cultural properties, punishable by a two-year prison sentence and a fine.

Under an agreement with the Japanese mission, the suspect must be presented if sought by the Philippine authorities.

Asia said Tomita insisted the bones were those of dead Japanese citizens.

"He claimed they were Japanese bones so he had a right to them," Asia told AFP, adding however that Tomita was unable to show official documents allowing the transport of human remains.

A spokeswoman for the National Museum told AFP they did not give Tomita a permit to transport any bones. (AFP)