Four injured in explosion
An explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnances at a US military base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa has injured four Japanese soldiers, though the injuries are not life threatening, officials said.
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 found on the island, local officials said. One of the harshest battles of World War II was fought on Okinawa.
Prefectural officials said the injuries were not life threatening, but no other details were immediately known.
The US Air Force said in a statement that the explosion occurred inside the facility managed by the Okinawa prefectural government at Kadena Air Base's munitions storage area.
It said no US service members were involved in the incident.
The Self Defense Force's (SDF) joint staff said one of the ordnances suddenly exploded when the soldiers were inspecting it at the facility. The blast occurred when the soldiers were trying to remove rust to examine details of the unexploded ordnance, NHK television reported.
The SDF said they are trying to confirm what caused the accident.
Hundreds of tonnes of unexploded wartime bombs, many of them dropped by the US military, remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites and elsewhere.
Many of them are still found on Okinawa, where about 1,856 tonnes of unexploded US bombs are believed to remain.
In October, an unexploded wartime US bomb exploded at a commercial airport in southern Japan, causing a large crater and suspending dozens of flights. — AP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sinar Daily
8 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
'Unspeakable horror': The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The first atomic bomb was dropped on the western city of Hiroshima by the US bomber Enola Gay, nicknamed "Little Boy". 04 Aug 2025 08:15pm This file photo taken in 1945 next to the Urakami river in Nagasaki shows a wrecked brick wall and a Mitsubishi steel factory after the US bombing of the city. The US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 left around 140,000 people dead. It was followed days later by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9 that killed around 74,000 people. The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. (Photo by AFP) TOKYO - Japan this week marks 80 years since the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. The first on August 6, 1945 killed around 140,000 people in Hiroshima and three days later another 74,000 perished in Nagasaki. This file photo taken on March 29, 1946 in Roswell, New Mexico shows the US military airplane nicknamed Bockscar, which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945 at the end of World War II. The US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 left around 140,000 people dead. It was followed days later by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9 that killed around 74,000 people. The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. (Photo by AFP) Here are some facts about the devastating attacks: The bombs The first atomic bomb was dropped on the western city of Hiroshima by the US bomber Enola Gay, nicknamed "Little Boy". It detonated about 600 metres from the ground, with a force equivalent to 15,000 tonnes of TNT. Tens of thousands died instantly, while others succumbed to injuries or illness in the weeks, months and years that followed. Three days later the US dropped a second bomb, dubbed "Fat Man", on the southern city of Nagasaki. The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime. The attacks In Hiroshima, the first thing people noticed was an "intense ball of fire", according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Temperatures near the blast reached an estimated 7,000 degrees Celsius (12,632 degrees Fahrenheit), which incinerated everything within a radius of about three kilometres (five miles). "I remember the charred bodies of little children lying around the hypocentre area like black rocks," Koichi Wada, a witness who was 18 at the time of the Nagasaki attack, has said of the bombing. ICRC experts say there were cases of temporary or permanent blindness due to the intense flash of light, and subsequent related damage such as cataracts. A whirlwind of heat generated also ignited thousands of fires that ravaged large parts of the mostly wooden city. A firestorm that consumed all available oxygen caused more deaths by suffocation. It has been estimated that burn- and fire-related casualties accounted for more than half of the immediate deaths in Hiroshima. The explosion generated an enormous shock wave that blew people through the air. Others were crushed to death inside collapsed buildings or injured or killed by flying debris. Radiation effects Radiation sickness was reported in the aftermath by many who survived the initial blasts and firestorms. Acute symptoms included vomiting, headaches, nausea, diarrhoea, haemorrhaging and hair loss, with radiation sickness fatal for many within a few weeks or months. Survivors, known as "hibakusha", also experienced longer-term effects including elevated risks of thyroid cancer and leukaemia, and both Hiroshima and Nagasaki have seen elevated cancer rates. Of 50,000 radiation victims from both cities studied by the Japanese-US Radiation Effects Research Foundation, about 100 died of leukaemia and 850 suffered from radiation-induced cancers. The group found no evidence however of a "significant increase" in serious birth defects among survivors' children. The aftermath The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. Historians have debated whether the bombings ultimately saved lives by bringing an end to the conflict and averting a ground invasion. But those calculations meant little to survivors, many of whom battled decades of physical and psychological trauma, as well as the stigma that sometimes came with being a hibakusha. Despite their suffering, many survivors were shunned -- in particular for marriage -- because of prejudice over radiation exposure. Survivors and their supporters have become some of the loudest and most powerful voices opposing nuclear weapons, including meeting world leaders to press their case. Last year, the Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of hibakusha, won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2019, Pope Francis met several hibakusha in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, decrying the "unspeakable horror" and calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. In 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima. He offered no apology for the attack, but embraced survivors and called for a world free of nuclear weapons. Russia is one of around 100 countries expected to attend this year's memorial in Nagasaki, the first time Moscow has been invited to commemorations in the city since the start of the war with Ukraine. - AFP
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 80 years after and it still hurts
TOKYO (AFP): Japan this week marks 80 years since the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. The first on August 6, 1945 killed around 140,000 people in Hiroshima and three days later another 74,000 perished in Nagasaki. Here are some facts about the devastating attacks: - The bombs - The first atomic bomb was dropped on the western city of Hiroshima by the US bomber Enola Gay, nicknamed "Little Boy". It detonated about 600 metres from the ground, with a force equivalent to 15,000 tonnes of TNT. Tens of thousands died instantly, while others succumbed to injuries or illness in the weeks, months and years that followed. Three days later the US dropped a second bomb, dubbed "Fat Man", on the southern city of Nagasaki. The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime. This photo, taken in 1948, shows a view of the devastated city of Hiroshima in Japan, three years after the first atomic bomb was dropped on a population. The US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, left around 140,000 people dead. It was followed days later by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9 that killed around 74,000 people. The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. -- Photo by AFP - The attacks - In Hiroshima, the first thing people noticed was an "intense ball of fire", according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Temperatures near the blast reached an estimated 7,000 degrees Celsius (12,632 degrees Fahrenheit), which incinerated everything within a radius of about three kilometres (five miles). "I remember the charred bodies of little children lying around the hypocentre area like black rocks," Koichi Wada, a witness who was 18 at the time of the Nagasaki attack, has said of the bombing. ICRC experts say there were cases of temporary or permanent blindness due to the intense flash of light, and subsequent related damage such as cataracts. A whirlwind of heat generated also ignited thousands of fires that ravaged large parts of the mostly wooden city. A firestorm that consumed all available oxygen caused more deaths by suffocation. It has been estimated that burn- and fire-related casualties accounted for more than half of the immediate deaths in Hiroshima. The explosion generated an enormous shock wave that blew people through the air. Others were crushed to death inside collapsed buildings or injured or killed by flying debris. A photo dated September 1945 of the remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building after the bombing of Hiroshima, which was later preserved as a monument. The US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, left around 140,000 people dead. It was followed days later by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9 that killed around 74,000 people. The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. -- Photo by AFP - Radiation effects - Radiation sickness was reported in the aftermath by many who survived the initial blasts and firestorms. Acute symptoms included vomiting, headaches, nausea, diarrhoea, haemorrhaging and hair loss, with radiation sickness fatal for many within a few weeks or months. Survivors, known as "hibakusha", also experienced longer-term effects including elevated risks of thyroid cancer and leukaemia, and both Hiroshima and Nagasaki have seen elevated cancer rates. Of 50,000 radiation victims from both cities studied by the Japanese-US Radiation Effects Research Foundation, about 100 died of leukaemia and 850 suffered from radiation-induced cancers. The group found no evidence however of a "significant increase" in serious birth defects among survivors' children. This file photo from the US Air Force, taken in August 1945, shows Maj. Theodore Van Kirk (L), navigator, Col. Paul Tibbets (C), pilot, and Maj. Thomas Ferebee, bombardier, after dropping the first atomic bomb on Japan. The US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, left around 140,000 people dead. It was followed days later by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9 that killed around 74,000 people. The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. - Photo: AFP - The aftermath - The twin bombings dealt the final blow to imperial Japan, which surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. Historians have debated whether the bombings ultimately saved lives by bringing an end to the conflict and averting a ground invasion. But those calculations meant little to survivors, many of whom battled decades of physical and psychological trauma, as well as the stigma that sometimes came with being a hibakusha. Despite their suffering, many survivors were shunned -- in particular for marriage -- because of prejudice over radiation exposure. Survivors and their supporters have become some of the loudest and most powerful voices opposing nuclear weapons, including meeting world leaders to press their case. Last year, the Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of hibakusha, won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2019, Pope Francis met several hibakusha in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, decrying the "unspeakable horror" and calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. In 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima. He offered no apology for the attack, but embraced survivors and called for a world free of nuclear weapons. Russia is one of around 100 countries expected to attend this year's memorial in Nagasaki, the first time Moscow has been invited to commemorations in the city since the start of the war with Ukraine. - AFP
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Gutted historic KK hall must be restored to original design, says former Sabah CM
KOTA KINABALU: The historic Kota Kinabalu Community Centre, which was destroyed in a fire, must be restored with its original design and structure, says Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee said. The former Sabah chief minister said upgrading should only be done for its toilets and cafe facilities in order to preserve its heritage status and culturally historical value. "It is a well-known community centre and has been the site of many momentous and historic events from the colonial era until today," he said. The community centre was gazetted as a Cultural Heritage Conservation site under the Sabah Cultural Heritage Conservation Enactment 1997. "It remains protected as a heritage site," he said during a visit to the community hall, which suffered 80% damage in a fire on Tuesday (July 29). "During my visit to the site, I found that much of the original concrete walls at the main hall are not materially affected by the fire, which occurred mainly on the east side of the hall. "The roof, on the other hand, needs a complete reconstruction," he said. Following the fire, Kota Kinabalu City Hall said that they were assessing the damages with an eye to restoring the post-World War II building that was opened in 1958. The Kota Kinabalu Community Hall is seen as a historical landmark in the city as it was used by the British colonial government, and was the site of major events, including gatherings for the formation of Malaysia. The hall stood as a post-war symbol of reconstruction, as most of Jesselton (the former name of Kota Kinabalu) was destroyed during the Allied liberation of Sabah from the Japanese. It was opened in 1958 by then British North Borneo governor Sir Roland Turnbull. Over the past six decades, the hall was a venue for community and political gatherings, exhibitions and sporting events such as boxing, badminton and basketball matches.
