A regional airport in southwest Japan was closed on Wednesday after a U.S. bombshell, likely dropped during World War Two to stem "kamikaze" attacks, exploded near its runway, causing nearly 90 flight cancellations.
Miyazaki Airport shut its runway after the explosion caused a crater seven metres (23 feet) wide and one metre (3.2 feet) deep in the middle of the taxiway next to the runway, according to a Japanese transport ministry official.
A bomb disposal team from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force later found that the cause of the explosion was an American bomb that had been buried beneath the land surface, probably dating to a wartime air raid, the official said.
No injuries were reported but live cam footage showed an airplane had been taxiing nearby just two minutes before the explosion, according to local broadcaster MRT.
The runway shutdown has led to the grounding of 87 flights but there is no danger of any further explosions and repair works to fill the hole should be completed by Thursday morning, said Japan's top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi.
Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defence Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound US bomb and there was no further danger.
They were determining what caused its sudden detonation.A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air like a fountain.
Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions. A number of unexploded bombs dropped by the US military during World War II have been unearthed in the area, Defence Ministry officials said.
Hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from the war remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites.
(With inputs from agencies)
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