Explosion at a US air base in southern Japan injures 4 Japanese soldiers

TOKYO AP An explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnance at a U S military base on Japan s southern island of Okinawa injured four Japanese soldiers though the injuries are not life-threatening authorities noted Monday The four soldiers sustained finger injuries while working at a facility that belongs to Okinawa prefecture and temporarily stores unexploded ordnance mostly from wartime and uncovered on the island local leaders reported One of the harshest battles of World War II was fought on Okinawa Prefectural bureaucrats revealed the injuries were not life-threatening but no other details were directly known The U S Air Force commented in a report that the explosion occurred at the facility managed by the Okinawa prefectural establishment at Kadena Air Base s munitions storage area It declared no U S servicemembers were involved in the circumstance The Self Defense Force s joint staff explained one of the devices suddenly exploded when the soldiers were inspecting it at the facility The blast occurred when the soldiers were trying to remove rust NHK television informed The SDF reported they are trying to confirm what caused the accident Monday s accident was inferred to be the first ever since the launch of the Japanese army s unexploded ordnance disposal unit Hundreds of tons of unexploded wartime bombs multiple of them dropped by the U S military remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites and elsewhere Multiple of them are still ascertained on Okinawa where about tons of unexploded U S bombs are thought to remain In October an unexploded wartime U S bomb exploded at a commercial airport in southern Japan causing a large crater and suspending dozens of flights Source