Explosion occurred near US air base in Japan, 4 servicemen injured

On Monday, June 9, an explosion occurred near the US military base Kadena in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. Four servicemen were injured.

It was reported by Kyodo News with reference to representatives of local authorities and the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

Thus, representatives of the ministry stated that the explosion occurred at a time when servicemen were preparing to defuse bombs, as a result of which people who were in the immediate vicinity received lacerations to their fingers and, possibly, damage to their hearing.

In particular, four servicemen of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces who worked in the warehouse received minor injuries.

According to a source in the Ministry of Defense, the explosion occurred in a storage room for unexploded bombs in the area of ​​​​the ammunition depot on the territory of the base.

Local authorities said no evacuation orders had been issued for residents of nearby areas and there was no risk of further explosions or fires. Okinawa remains home to the majority of US military installations in Japan even after it was relinquished from US control in 1972 following Japan's defeat in World War II.