Miyazaki Airport in southwest Japan has cancelled over 80 flights after an unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II detonated yesterday.
The explosion reportedly occurred near a runway, creating a large crater reportedly seven meters wide and about one meter deep. Land and Transport Ministry officials confirmed that no aircraft were close enough at the time of the explosion to cause any injuries or, for that matter, damage to any planes.
Japanese Self-Defense Forces concluded that the blast was from a U.S. bomb — more accurately a dud shell — weighing about 500-pounds that was apparently resting under the taxiway but officials have not yet determined what caused the bomb to suddenly explode after eight decades.
Miyazaki Airport in Miyazaki Prefecture, is currently an international airport often used by Japanese Airlines. It was previously used to train the Imperial Japanese Navy. Because of this, it was targeted by the United States during World War II, resulting in two other unexploded U.S. shells being discovered in the area over the last 13 years.
During the Battle of Okinawa, 47 kamikaze aircraft — which are planes flown by pilots on suicide missions — took off from the airport in their fight against United States forces.
Civil Aviation College nearby, which uses the airport for pilot training, captured footage of the explosion which has been shown in newscasts throughout Japan and worldwide thanks to social media.
The explosion occurred around 8am local time. Firefighters and police instructed everyone to evacuate the area.
Miyazaki is often known or its surfing culture, thanks to its hugely popular surfing spots written about worldwide, including Kisakihama Beach which hosted the International Surfing Association 2019 World Surfing Games.
The airport has stated that it hopes to continue operations as early as Thursday.
