Japan's Miyazaki Airport to be checked for more unexploded bombs

This handout photo released to AFP by the Miyazaki Airport Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on October 4, 2024 shows debris on the edge of the airport tarmac after an unexploded World War II US bomb blew up less than a minute after a passenger jet taxied past on October 2 at Miyazaki airport in southern Kyushu island. AFP PHOTO / MIYAZAKI AIRPORT OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY OF LAND, INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND TOURISM

Japan's transport ministry said it will check Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan for unexploded bombs from World War II after one exploded on a taxiway and led to the cancellation of dozens of flights earlier this week.

"This is something that could affect the safety of flights," said transport minister Tetsuo Saito at a press conference in announcing the measure, adding he has instructed officials to consider surveying other airports, including Sendai, Fukuoka and Naha.

On Wednesday, a 250-kilogram bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport, leaving asphalt fragments scattered over a radius of some 200 meters, including the runway. An aircraft had passed close to the site two minutes before, but no one was injured.

The ministry will conduct a magnetic survey around the taxiway in addition to the airport's runway and apron from Monday at the earliest. The survey will not affect flight schedules, it said.

Formerly an air base of the Imperial Japanese Navy, two unexploded U.S. bombs were found at the airport in 2011 and another in 2021.

Unexploded bombs have also been found at Naha and Sendai airports.