Projectile event in Hokkaido, Shikaoi Town Exercise Range, Hokkaido area, Japan on Mon 28th August 2023

Hangzhou Net – August 30, 2023 During a recent shooting training exercise at the Shikaoi Town Exercise Range in Hokkaido, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force made a concerning discovery. On August 28, it was confirmed that an artillery shell, initially believed to be lost, was found unexploded. The training session, held at the Ranbetsu training ground in Shikaoi, took an unexpected turn when a shell fired towards the northeast failed to hit its intended target. Prompted by this misstep, the Self-Defense Forces launched a search operation in the vicinity, successfully locating the unexploded shell. According to reports from the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), initial analysis suggests that the shell missed its target due to an incorrect distance setting at the time of firing. In response to this incident, the responsible individual at the Land Self-Defense Force expressed sincerest apologies for the concern caused to the local community and related organizations. They assured that a thorough investigation will be conducted and measures will be implemented to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.