Two unexploded bombs apparently used in World War Two have been discovered near the airport on Miyakojima Island in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa.
Officials of Miyakojima City and Okinawa Prefecture say the two 250-kilogram bombs were found in a field adjacent to Miyako Airport on October 8 and 11 during a magnetic survey to detect underground metals.
The discovery came after an unexploded bomb, believed to have been dropped by US forces during the war, exploded on a taxiway on October 2 at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.
The two newly discovered bombs are the same size as the one at Miyazaki Airport.
They are thought to have been used by British forces that joined the US military to attack Miyakojima and other places in Japan.
Miyako Airport is located where there was an airfield of the former Imperial Japanese Navy during the war.
In the vicinity of the airport, five US-made 50-kilogram bombs were discovered and disposed of last year.
The city of Miyakojima has been making preparations with a specialized unit from the Self-Defense Forces for the swift disposal of the two bombs.
Japan’s land ministry will conduct emergency inspections at five airports, where there used to be facilities for the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military, and unexploded wartime bombs have been discovered before.
Among them, the inspection began at Miyazaki Airport on Wednesday evening.