
Unexploded WWII bomb removed from central Nagoya
NAGOYA—An unexploded bomb found in Nagoya city's Marunouchi district that forced an evacuation of local residents was successfully removed and disposed of, the city government announced on July 13.
The 250-kilogram incendiary bomb was made in the United States and was likely dropped during an air raid in World War II.
Self-Defense Forces began removing the fuse at 10 a.m. that day, and the area was declared safe at 12:20 p.m. after the fuse was removed.
According to the city, approximately 1,800 people were asked to evacuate from an approximately 200-meter radius of the site, and entry was restricted during the work.
Twelve city buses running in the area were diverted.
A 64-year-old company employee who evacuated to a nearby elementary school during the removal work said, 'I was reminded once again of how intense the air raid on Nagoya was 80 years ago.'
Workers had discovered the unexploded ordnance 2 meters underground on June 10 while excavating the foundation for a 15-story condominium.
A total of six unexploded bombs have been found in the city since last October, including this one.
Of these, five were found at the same address in the Marunouchi district, and they were most likely incendiary bombs dropped by the U.S. military on March 19, 1945, due to their shape and other factors.
In that air raid, 1,858 tons of bombs and incendiary bombs were dropped on the entire city, killing 826 people and damaging approximately 40,000 houses.
(This article was written by Kento Matsushima and Tomoaki Ito.)

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The Mainichi
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Okada, who had traveled to the city within two weeks of the bomb's detonation, was certified as a hibakusha -- atomic bomb survivor -- because she had entered the affected area shortly after the attack. Before that traumatizing period, she had spent time on the island in the weapons factory. There, she and her fellow students used a paste made from konnyaku root to build the unmanned, hydrogen-filled balloon bombs, which were 10 meters in diameter and made of Japanese washi paper. Carrying incendiary bombs and an advanced-for-its-time altitude control system, the balloons were able to ride the jet stream across the Pacific and reach North America. Between 1944 and 1945, more than 9,000 of these balloons were launched, mostly from three bases in Japan, and at least 300 are believed to have reached the U.S. mainland, where they caused wildfires but little other major damage. 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Since then, she has continued her anti-war campaigning through her drawing and writing. According to the U.S. military's post-war records, Japan produced 6,616 tons of poison gas that was used in over 7 million ammunition rounds, including artillery shells. Some of the poison gas munitions transported to China went unused and were left abandoned, causing problems when they were later found or unearthed. The Japanese government confirmed the "existence of abandoned chemical weapons" in a memorandum to the Chinese government in 1999. Currently, the total number of chemical weapon munitions left behind is estimated at more than 100,000. Japan and China are working together to dispose of them. Okada believes Japanese people "should accept causing a war as our responsibility, face it, reflect on it, apologize for it, make amends for it and ensure that it leads to friendship and peace." With various conflicts raging around the world, "we don't know when Japan will go to war," she said. 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