WWII-era U.S. bomb explodes at Japanese airport, leaving crater in runway – National

Flights at a regional Japanese airport were grounded on Wednesday after an unexploded American bombshell, believed to be from the Second World War, detonated near the runway.

The bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport on Wednesday morning and left a crater, seven metres wide and one metre deep, in the airport’s taxiway.

Japanese officials have not yet determined what triggered the explosion.

More than 80 flights were cancelled on Wednesday after the blast, Reuters reported. No injuries were reported.

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force said the American bomb, which weighed 500 pounds, was buried beneath the ground and was likely dropped during a wartime air raid.

The explosion was captured on video by a nearby security camera. When the bombshell detonates in the footage, it sends a tower of dust and asphalt spewing into the air.

Officials do not anticipate any additional explosions.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said construction to repair to the crater should be completed by Thursday morning.

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During the Second World War, Miyazaki Airport was created as an Imperial Japanese Navy base where “kamikaze” pilots trained for suicide missions. The airport is located on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu.

Unexploded wartime bombs are still occasionally found in Japan today, typically during construction projects in the country. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces reported 2,348 bombs, weighing a collective 37.5 tonnes, were located and disposed of during the 2023 fiscal year.

— With files from Reuters

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