An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II detonated at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of over 80 flights. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported as there were no aircraft nearby at the time of the explosion. The blast, attributed to a 500-pound U.S. bomb, was confirmed by an investigation conducted by the Self-Defense Forces and police.
Video footage captured by a nearby aviation school depicted the explosion sending asphalt debris into the air, creating a fountain-like effect. Images broadcast on Japanese television revealed a crater in the taxiway measuring approximately 7 meters in diameter and 1 meter deep.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced that operations at the airport were temporarily halted, with hopes to resume flights by Thursday morning. Miyazaki Airport, originally established in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field, holds historical significance as a site from which kamikaze pilots embarked on suicide missions during World War II.
Defense Ministry officials noted that the region has previously unearthed unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. military during the war. Japan continues to grapple with the legacy of World War II, with hundreds of tons of unexploded ordnance still buried across the country, occasionally surfacing at construction sites.
