Identified munition
Bomb
Bomb (Air Delivered)
Bomb (Air Delivered) event in Okinawa, Urasoe, Maeda District area, Japan on Thu 21st May 2026
21st May 2026
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More than 800 people were evacuated Thursday from a city in central Okinawa while the Japanese army removed an American-made bomb believed to be left over from World War II.
The 550-pound weapon was found March 18 by workers at a construction site in the Maeda district of Urasoe city, a spokesman for the city's Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Division said by phone Tuesday.
The operation began at 10 a.m. and lasted about 90 minutes, the spokesman said by phone Thursday. Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's 101st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit moved the bomb into an adjacent hole using a crane and defused it.
The city evacuated 849 people from 369 households and 38 businesses, according to the city's website. The evacuation zone encompassed a 928-foot radius.
The Okinawa Urban Monorail also paused operations from Shuri Station to Tedako Uranishi Station.
Also Thursday, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force detonated about 530 pounds of U.S.-made, WWII-era bombs underwater off Geruma island, according to the Zamami village website. The island is about 23 miles west of Naha city.
The three-hour operation began at 8:30 a.m. and closed four beaches on nearby Aka Island and one beach on Geruma Island. Boats were restricted from a 985-foot radius and swimmers were restricted in a 2-mile radius, according to the website.
The ordnance included one 81 mm mortar shell, one 8-inch shell, one 6-inch shell, one 5-inch shell, one 4-inch shell and two 3-inch shells, a village General Affairs Division spokesman said by phone Monday.
Unexploded ordnance from the 1945 Battle of Okinawa is still regularly found across the island, particularly at former battlefield and construction sites.
On June 4, Japan's navy will detonate four Japanese 550-pound bombs offshore of Kubura fishing port in Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, according to the Yonaguni town website.
Twenty-two bombs were found in the surrounding waters and will be disposed of over the coming years, a town spokesman said by phone Monday.
On May 28, the U.S. Marine Corps will dispose of about 9,000 pounds of post-war training munitions, including 10 bombs, one MK-84 and one BDU-45, on le Shima, 3 miles west of the Motobu peninsula in northern Okinawa, according to the service.
A 500-foot radius will be restricted from 7 a.m. until the operation concludes, according to le village's website.
One house will be evacuated, Marine Corps Installations Pacific spokeswoman 1st Lt. Kelsey Enlow said by email Thursday.
Once treated, the rounds will be recycled on Camp Kinser, she added.
Some Japanese government officials may speak to the press on condition of anonymity.
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Japan (JPN)
Okinawa ( Urasoe, Maeda District area )
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