Okinawa’s capital city of Naha is planning to evacuate 1,400 people while Japanese troops disarm and remove a suspected United States bomb from World War II next month.
According to Naha’s website, the 551-pound ordnance was discovered at the construction site of a sewage system in the city’s Shuri district last December. Stars and Stripes reported that the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s 101st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit is planning to dig 20 feet deep and 10 feet wide around the bomb’s shell prior to removing the bomb fuse.
According to Stars and Stripes, city and fire department officials will be responsible for evacuating all buildings within a 928-foot radius of the World War II bomb, including 80 businesses and 470 households. The evacuation of roughly 1,400 people is currently scheduled to take place on September 29.
A spokesperson with Naha’s Disaster Prevention Division told Stars and Stripes, “We cannot start the operations if someone is within the evacuation area.”
The Disaster Prevention Division spokesperson explained that it is currently not possible for the Japanese to remove the bomb shell as it is because “it is very dangerous since it has the fuse in it and might explode.” Stars and Stripes reported that the removal of the bomb was delayed due to its location in a narrow area with a large population.
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“Usually, we build something like a sand mountain covered with metal plates over the shell before removing it, but we don’t have the space to do so,” the Disaster Prevention Division spokesperson told Stars and Stripes.
Stars and Stripes reported that since heavy machinery could not fit in the area surrounding the bomb shell, city officials ultimately decided to move forward with plans to dig a hole around the bomb.
“We have to consider many things to not affect buildings surrounding the place and also we have to reconduct magnetic surveys after digging,” the spokesperson added.
A Self-Defense Force spokesperson told Stars and Stripes that the disarmed bomb shell will be stored at a Okinawa facility until the bomb is able to be detonated safely in the sea.
According to Stars and Stripes, roughly 2,000 tons of ordnance remain missing from the 10,000 tons dropped on Okinawa during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II.
