Two men may be WWII Japanese soldiers

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines -- Sixty years after the guns of World War II went silent, reports that two Japanese Imperial Army soldiers had been found in the mountains of the southern Philippines sent Japan's diplomats on a frantic mission yesterday to try to contact them.

The two men, in their 80s, reportedly have lived on the restive southern island of Mindanao since they were separated from their division

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's spokesman, Yu Kameoka, said in Tokyo that the men were apparently reluctant to meet with the officials because of the large crowds waiting to see them.

Diplomats were trying to schedule a meeting for today.