American WWII bomb explodes at Japanese airport, causing large crater in taxiway
An unexploded 500‑pound U.S. World War II bomb detonated under the edge of a runway at Miyazaki Airport in Japan, creating a 7‑meter crater but luckily causing no injuries—minutes after a passenger plane had taxied past. Commenters use the incident to explore how vast quantities of unexploded ordnance from 20th‑century wars continue to surface worldwide, the technical and legal challenges of detecting and safely removing old munitions, and the long-term human and environmental risks they pose.
Incident and immediate reactions
- Commenters note how narrowly disaster was avoided; a plane with ~100 people reportedly taxied past minutes before detonation.
- The bomb seems to have been at the runway edge, under an area normally not directly under landing gear but under fuel-laden wings.
- Some are surprised the crater (about 7 m wide, 1 m deep) is described as “large,” but others point out it was enough to shut the airport and represents a huge mass of displaced soil.
Why a WWII bomb was still there
- The airport began as a 1943 Imperial Japanese Navy airfield; many US bombs were dropped on such sites and not all were cleared.
- Ground‑penetrating radar and routine UXO surveys were not common when the civilian runway was built.
- Modern commenters expect the entire airfield will now be systematically swept.
Aging explosives and UXO hazards
- Several posts stress that old explosives often become more sensitive as fuses and detonators corrode and chemicals degrade.
- UXO from WWI and WWII is still being found in France, Belgium, Germany, the UK, Italy, Cambodia, and elsewhere; hundreds of tons per year in some regions.
- Clearing UXO remains dangerous; France alone has lost hundreds of disposal workers since 1946.
How countries handle UXO
- In dense areas like Germany, France, Japan, and the UK, known UXO is almost always removed or blown in place; liability and construction needs force action.
- Extremely contaminated training or battle areas are sometimes fenced off instead of cleared (e.g., “Zone Rouge” in France, forest ranges in Germany).
- Some jurisdictions require UXO risk assessments before construction permits; methods include historical bombing maps, aerial photos, and sometimes geophysics.
Debate on identifying this bomb
- Some question how authorities know it was a US 500 lb WWII bomb versus another source (postwar loss, deliberate planting).
- Others argue context and forensics make WWII origin overwhelmingly likely: the site was bombed in WWII, Japan hasn’t been bombed since, shrapnel and explosive residue can be type‑matched, and burying such a large bomb under an active runway in peacetime is implausible.
Broader reflections
- Many comments highlight how weapons outlive wars: mines, cluster munitions, and UXO keep killing and maiming civilians decades later.
- There is discussion of modern efforts to design self‑deactivating mines and safer explosives, but also skepticism about real‑world dud behavior.
- Some see the thread as a reminder of the enduring costs of aerial bombing; others debate strategic effectiveness and ethics of bombing civilians.