An undetonated American World War II bomb that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded on Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and canceling more than 80 flights but injuring no one, Japanese officials said.
Land and Transport Ministry officials said there was no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.
Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed the explosion was caused by a 500-pound American bomb and there was no further danger. They were determining what caused its sudden detonation.
A video recorded by a nearby flight school showed the explosion spewing chunks of asphalt into the air like a fountain. Videos broadcast on Japanese television showed a crater in the taxiway that was reportedly about 7 yards in diameter and 3 feet deep.
Chief Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said more than 80 flights had been canceled at the airport, which hopes to resume operations Thursday morning.
“There is no threat of a second explosion, and police and firefighters are currently investigating the scene,” Hayashi said.
A fire brigade “received a call from the airport at 07:59 that there was a smoke incident,” its spokesman told AFP.
Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy air training ground from which some kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions.
A number of unexploded bombs dropped by the US military during World War II have been unearthed in the area, Defense Department officials said.
Another unexploded ordinance released by the United States was reportedly found at a nearby construction site in 2009 and 2011.
Hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from the war are still buried around Japan and are sometimes unearthed at construction sites.
A total of 2,348 bombs weighing 41 tons were disposed of in fiscal year 2023, Reuters news agency reported, citing the Self-Defense Force.
Last year a World War II bomb found in England exploded in what authorities call an “unplanned” detonation.
AFP contributed to this report.