Dropped for suicide pilots: Story behind the World War II bomb that created chaos at Miyazaki Airport

An American bomb from the World War II era exploded near a runway at Miyazaki Airport in Japan on Wednesday, leaving a large crater and causing the cancellation of more than 80 flights. The bomb, believed to have been dropped during an air raid to neutralise Japanese aircraft, was part of a military drill aimed at preventing "kamikaze" attacks, officials said.
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force confirmed the source of the explosion, stating that the bomb had been buried beneath the surface for decades.The explosion damaged the airport's taxiway, creating a crater approximately 7 metres (23 feet) in diameter and 1 metre (3 feet) deep.
A video captured by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing asphalt into the air, with debris falling like a fountain.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi confirmed that over 80 flights had been cancelled as of Wednesday afternoon. However, repairs to the damaged taxiway were completed overnight, and flights resumed Thursday morning, the airport said.
Miyazaki Airport, which was originally built in 1943 as an Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field, has a historical connection to World War II. Some pilots took off from the site on suicide missions. The area has since been the location of several discoveries of unexploded ordnance left by the US military during the war, according to Defence Ministry officials.
Hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from World War II remain buried across Japan and are occasionally uncovered during construction work, posing a persistent danger.

A kamikaze bomber refers to a Japanese military pilot who carried out deliberate suicide missions during World War II, particularly in the war's latter stages. The term "kamikaze" comes from the Japanese words "kami" (meaning divine) and "kaze" (meaning wind), translating to "divine wind." These pilots would crash their planes, often loaded with explosives, into enemy ships or military targets, sacrificing their lives to inflict maximum damage.

The kamikaze tactic was primarily employed by the Japanese Imperial Navy and Air Force against Allied naval vessels, notably during the Battle of Okinawa and other Pacific Theater battles. This strategy emerged as a desperate last resort as Japan's military resources dwindled, aiming to slow the advance of Allied forces.
Kamikaze pilots were typically young men who viewed their missions as an honourable duty to defend their homeland. These attacks became a symbol of extreme sacrifice and determination in the face of imminent defeat.
The kamikaze strategy, though costly, inflicted heavy damage on Allied warships throughout the conflict, but ultimately failed to turn the tide of the war.