KAGOSHIMA (TR) – An unexploded ordnance was found at a construction site for a new apartment building in Satsumasendai City last week, police said, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 25).
At around 11:00 a.m. on April 24, a member of the construction crew tipped off police after the suspected ordinance — measuring 1.3 meters long and 50 centimeters in diameter — was unearthed at the site, located in the Shirawacho area.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force later arriving at the scene confirmed that it is in fact a 500-kilogram ordinance made by the United States.
In video footage shot at the site, GSDF members were seen examining the ordinance while it sat in the bucket of an excavator.
The site is located at the corner of a residential area near the Sendaigawa River. According to the city, a similar unexploded ordnance was discovered nearby in 1990.
The GSDF is now considering what process to undertake to remove the fuse from the detonator of the ordnance. It is possible that the GSDF in Saga Prefecture will be contacted for the work.