Video footage taken on May 12 in Naha shows newly revealed sections of the underground headquarters used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. (Pool)

Photo/Illutration Wooden pillars still support the walls of the World War II underground headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army's 32nd Army in Naha. (Pool)

NAHA–Almost 80 years later, wooden pillars still support the tunnel walls alongside bottles inscribed with “Dainippon Brewery,” a beer company from the era. 

The relics are grim remnants of the vast tunnel network dug by the Imperial Japanese Army under Shuri-jo castle before the fierce Battle of Okinawa in 1945. 

Previously closed-off parts of the tunnel network were opened to the media recently.

The site was the headquarters for the 32nd Army, which was tasked with defending the nation’s southernmost islands against the U.S. invasion.

About 110 meters of Tunnel No. 2 and Tunnel No. 3 were shown to a crew from the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) and The Okinawa Times on April 25 and May 12.

Tunnel No. 3 is believed to have housed the office of Mitsuru Ushijima, commander of the 32nd Army.

This marks the first media access to the site since 2020, when Tunnel No. 5 was opened. Due to the risk of collapse, the site is typically off-limits to the public.

The partially collapsed tunnels are 1.2 to 2 meters high and 1.3 to 2.8 meters wide, with fallen rocks and puddles of water scattered throughout.

Constructed between 1944 and 1945, the underground complex features five tunnels totaling roughly 1 kilometer in length. It was believed to have been occupied by more than 1,000 officers and soldiers.

Two months after the U.S. military landed on Okinawa in late March 1945, the 32nd Army decided to withdraw from the Naha headquarters and blow up the tunnels.

The headquarters were moved to Mabuni in the southern part of Okinawa, and the entire southern portion of the island became a battlefield, with many civilians caught up in the bloody fighting.

One in four Okinawans are believed to have died in the Battle of Okinawa. June 23 is designated as Memorial Day in Okinawa, when the organized Japanese military operations ended.

The prefecture has been working to preserve the tunnels and allow public access to the war heritage site.

In fiscal 2023, a prefectural research team discovered an entrance within Shuri-jo Castle Park to Tunnel No. 1.

Previously unexplored, this tunnel is believed to have housed the operational headquarters room and other critical functions.

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