Tokyo, Japan – Japan will conduct inspections at regional airports for unexploded World War II ordnance following a bomb explosion on a taxiway at Miyazaki Airport in the country’s southwest, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito announced Friday.
The blast occurred on Wednesday when a 250-kilogram (550-pound) bomb, believed to have been dropped by the U.S. during the war, exploded just after a passenger jet had taxied by. The explosion left a crater but caused no injuries, although flights were suspended until the evening.
Minister Saito confirmed that magnetic searches will start at Miyazaki and other airports that previously served as military bases during the war, including Sendai, Fukuoka, and Naha.
Miyazaki Airport, once an imperial Japanese navy base, has uncovered multiple bombs in recent years, including a one-tonne device found in 2011. Japan’s military safely removed over 2,300 unexploded devices in the last year alone, particularly in the southern region of Okinawa.