Key points
- Four Japanese Self-Defense Forces members injured during bomb assessment work
- Blast occurred while rust was being cleaned from suspected unexploded ordnance
- Injuries not life-threatening
- Kadena is a key US military base in Okinawa
TOKYO, Japan: An explosion injured four men at a Japanese facility for storing unexploded bombs at a US air base in Okinawa on Monday, a fire official said, with their condition reportedly not critical.
According to AFP, Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) members at the facility at Kadena Air Base were trying to wipe rust off items at the facility to reassess if they were bombs, said local fire department official Akira Kamiunten.
The facility is used to temporarily store unexploded ammunition, Reuters reported.
Rushed to hospital
During that process, there was an explosion that injured four male SDF members who were rushed to hospital, he told AFP.
Jiji Press and other local media said none of the injuries were life-threatening.
A Defence Ministry spokesman also confirmed reports of an explosion at Kadena Air Base, located on the main island of the southern region of Okinawa.
During World War II, Japan used Okinawa as a buffer to slow US forces.
50,000-strong US troop presence
More than a quarter of the main island’s civilian population died in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.
The US occupation ended there in 1972, under a mutual treaty that left American bases in place.
Today, Okinawa contains 70 per cent of the land used for US bases in Japan, and hosts more than half of the 50,000-strong US troop presence.
