A regional airport in southwest Japan was closed on Wednesday after a U.S. bombshell, most likely dropped during World War II, exploded near its runway.
The explosion left Miyazaki Airport officials confused and resulted in almost 90 flights being canceled as the long-dormant 500-pound shell exploded in the middle of the taxiway next to the runway, The Guardian reported. The explosion caused a 23-foot wide crater that was nearly three feet deep, a Japanese transport ministry official shared.
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force later found that the explosion was from an American bomb, dated to a wartime raid, that had been buried beneath the ground and was most likely dropped by the U.S. as a means to stop “kamikaze” attacks, NBC News reported.
The Miyazaki Airport was formerly a Japanese navy base until the end of World War II. While being operated during the war, hundreds of young “kamikaze” pilots were sent from the airport on their final missions, the Miyazaki city website says.
Live camera footage showed an airplane had been taxiing nearby just two minutes before the bomb exploded, according to the Japanese media outlet KyodoNews. No injuries were reported as a result of the explosion.
The runway was quickly shut down after the explosion.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s top government spokesperson, said that there was no danger of any further explosion and that the hole would be repaired by Thursday morning.
This is not the first time that bombs dating back to World War II have been found at the airport, as unexploded bombs are often found around Japan from the airstrikes carried out on the country.
In fiscal year 2023, the Self-Defense Forces reported that 2,348 bombs weighing 41 tons were recovered and properly destroyed.
As for the explosion, officials are still working to determine what caused the bomb to go off.