THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 7, 2022 at 14:14 JST
An unexploded bomb is moved to a truck on Nov. 6 in Osaka after being removed by members of the Ground Self-Defense Force. (Atsushi Kawada)
OSAKA--Ground Self-Defense Force members removed an unexploded U.S. bomb likely dropped during World War II from the site of a future university campus here on Nov. 6.
Officials called for the evacuations of around 3,750 residents in about 2,200 households living in the “high-risk zone” within a radius of 300 meters of the site. Around 100 locals stayed at a temporary shelter.
One road leading to the site was blocked for about 1 hour and 40 minutes during the removal work on Nov. 6.
The 103rd unit of the Middle Army Logistic Support Troop stationed at the GSDF’s Katsura Camp in Kyoto city removed the bomb, which was found in September.
“The shape of the warhead of the bomb hasn’t changed, and we completed the task smoothly,” said Hirokazu Ikuta, who heads the unit.
Four unit members started removing the fuse at 9:55 a.m. and completed the task in about 30 minutes.
Once the GSDF declared the site safe at 10:38 a.m., the evacuation order was lifted, and the road was unblocked.
The 1-ton American bomb believed to have been dropped during the war measures 1.8 meters in length and 60 centimeters in diameter.
The Imperial Japanese Army’s Osaka artillery factory was located nearby during the war and was targeted in a U.S. air raid.
Morinomiya Campus for the Osaka Metropolitan University is scheduled to be built there.
The site is around 400 meters east of Osaka Jo Koen Station on West Japan Railway Co.’s Osaka Loop Line.
Multiple unexploded bombs have been found in this area before.
(This article was written by Itsuki Soeda and Atsushi Kawada.)
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