A bomb exploded on a taxiway at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan on Wednesday, leading to the cancellation of more than 80 flights.
No aircraft were nearby at the time of the explosion, which occurred just before 8 a.m. local time, and no one was injured in the incident. However, a plane had taxied past the area about two minutes before the blast.
Police and investigators from the Self-Defense Forces confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound U.S. bomb from World War II buried underground that had failed to detonate when it was dropped some 80 years earlier. Investigators are working to determine what caused its sudden detonation.
The explosion left a hole in the taxiway approximately 23 feet in diameter and about 3 feet deep. Video footage captured by a nearby aviation school shows the blast hurling chunks of asphalt into the air.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the airport is expected to complete repairs to the taxiway and resume regular operations on Thursday morning.
Miyazaki Airport currently operates as a commercial airport offering both domestic and international flights. It was originally constructed in 1943 as an Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field and thus was a target for U.S. forces attacking Japan during World War II. Several unexploded U.S. World War II-era bombs have been unearthed in the area in previous years, according to Defense Ministry officials.
Self-Defense Forces reported that 2,348 unexploded ordinances were unearthed and disposed of across Japan during fiscal year 2023, per Nikkei Asia.
