NHK has learned that what appeared to be an unexploded World War Two bomb has been found at Naha Airport in Okinawa. It was safely disposed of by the Self-Defense Forces.
Sources say that the object, which appeared to be an unexploded US bomb, was found in an unrestricted area of Naha Airport on Thursday.
The discovery came one day after an unexploded bomb went off suddenly under a taxiway at another airport in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan. It was likely one of many 250-kilogram bombs dropped by US forces during World War Two, when an Imperial Japanese Navy air base existed there.
Naha Airport has also been built in an area where the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Navy had an air base.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in the first nine months of this year, a total of seven unexploded bombs, or what appeared to be unexploded bombs, were found in restricted areas of Naha Airport.
They were all found underground off runways during late-night inspections prior to construction work after the day’s operations were over. None were in imminent danger of exploding, and were disposed of by a special SDF unit. These discoveries did not affect flight operations. Ministry officials say one of the unexploded bombs was a US-made 5-inch rocket bomb.
Ministry officials at Naha Airport say that they have used magnetic devices to detect metal objects hidden underground the runways, taxiways, and terminal building of Naha Airport, and unexploded bombs which were found have all been disposed of.
The officials admit that the sweep operation has not yet been conducted in some other areas of the airport.
They say that if another unexploded bomb is found anywhere at the airport, it will be safely disposed of in cooperation with the SDF and police.