Records have been discovered to prove that hundreds of Korean artifacts currently held by Japan had been taken out of Korea by the Japanese government during its colonial rule of the peninsula. 

In a survey commissioned last year by the Cultural Heritage Foundation, it's affiliate Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation found transfer records of 415 relics currently held in Japan.

The shipment documents for the artifacts from the ancient Korean kingdoms of Nakrang, Silla and Gaya show that they were taken out of the country by the Japanese Government General of Korea during the colonial era.

The Government General is said to have been involved in the excavation of old tombs. 

Many of the confirmed Korean relics are believed to have been housed in Tokyo National Museum, The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.