Japan Press Weekly

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2009 February 18 - 24 [US FORCES]

Government must not evade responsibility to promptly dispose of unexploded bombs

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

A bomb that had remained unexploded in the ground near a nursing home since the Battle of Okinawa of 1945 suddenly exploded on January 14 in Itoman City in Okinawa Prefecture, seriously injuring a person.

Itoman and other local assemblies as well as the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly have demanded that the central government dispose of unexploded bombs on its own responsibility.

Unexploded bombs remain a threat to people in many parts of the country.

On February 9, 1999 at Kisomisaki Town in Mie Prefecture, a worker at a national road construction site was killed; on June 18, 2001, a bulldozer driver under a reclamation work in Nishihara Town in Okinawa was injured.

Akamine Seiken, Japanese Communist Party representative of the House of Representatives, asked the government to clarify its position on the issue. The government responded by stating, “Local public authorities are also responsible for the matter.” Such an irresponsible attitude of the government is drawing public criticism.

It is extraordinary that more than sixty years after World War II, Japanese people are still forced to co-exist with the danger of the possible explosion of bombs that had been buried unexploded since they were dropped by U.S. forces during WWII.

In mainland Japan, about 30.7 tons of unexploded bombs were found in FY 2006 and 13 tons in FY 2007. In Okinawa, about 30.9 tons were found in FY 2006 and 23.2 tons in FY 2007. It is estimated that 2,300 tons of such bombs are still buried in Okinawa. They are a product of millions of bombs dropped by the U.S. forces during the Battle of Okinawa.

Since January, the government decided to allocate money for local governments to use sandbag shields for the disposal of unexploded bombs. However, it spends no money when it comes to their disposal at private sector construction sites.

Okinawa’s local governments argue that it will take 70 to 80 years to completely dispose of unexploded bombs.

It is wrong to force local governments to dispose of the legacy of the war of aggression by the Imperial Japanese government in the early 1930s.