US WWII-era bomb explodes at Japanese airport, leaves crater on runway – National
Flights at a Japanese regional airport were grounded on Wednesday after an unexploded US bomb, believed to be from World War II, was detonated near a runway.
A bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport on Wednesday morning and left a crater, seven meters wide and one meter deep, in the taxiway at the airport.
Japanese officials are still unclear as to what caused the explosion.
More than 80 flights were canceled on Wednesday after the explosion, Reuters reported. No injuries were reported.
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force said the American bomb, weighing 500 kilograms, was buried underground and may have been dropped during an airstrike during the war.
The explosion was captured on video by a nearby security camera. When the bomb explodes in the photos, it sends a tower of dust and tar into the air.
Officials do not expect any additional explosions.
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Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the construction of the hole repair should be completed by Thursday morning.
During World War II, Miyazaki Airport was built as a base for the Japanese Navy where “kamikaze” pilots were trained for suicide missions. The airport is located on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu.
Unexploded war bombs are still occasionally found in Japan today, often during construction projects in the country. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces reported that 2,348 bombs, weighing 37.5 tons, were found and disposed of in fiscal year 2023.
– In files from Reuters
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