Japan Ground Self-Defense Force troops defused this U.S.-made, 275-pound bomb believed to be from World War II after removing it from a historical site in Naha city, Okinawa, July 6, 2025. (Naha city)
Japanese soldiers defused a U.S.-made, 275-pound bomb believed to be a World War II leftover at a historic villa in Okinawa’s capital city Sunday, the latest unexploded bomb removed from the former island battleground.
More than 2,300 people were evacuated from 760 households and 110 businesses around Nakagusuku Udun in the Shuri district of Naha city during the operation, according to the city’s website.
Five members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s 101st Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit used a crane to move the shell into a hole, where they defused it, a spokeswoman with the city’s Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Division said by phone Monday.
The operation began at 10:05 a.m. and lasted about 20 minutes. It started later than expected due to the evacuation process but was completed without issues, the spokeswoman said.
She did not know where the bomb is being stored. The Self-Defense Force usually stores unexploded ordnance and detonates them in batches.
Nakagusuku Udun was built as a palace for the crown prince of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the 17th century near Chuzanmon Gate at Shuri Castle. It was relocated in 1873 to a site facing the Ryutan pond in front of the castle and became a Japanese military facility in 1879 when Japan annexed Okinawa, according to Shurijo Castle Park’s website.
Shuri Castle was destroyed in a naval bombardment during the Battle of Okinawa in May 1945, but was reconstructed in 1992. A 2019 fire destroyed the castle’s main hall and other structures, and reconstruction is scheduled to finish by March 2027.
The bomb removal follows two other operations to remove U.S.-made WWII-era bombs last month.
On June 21, nine members of the 101st defused and removed a 551-pound bomb from the Nakadomari district of Kumejima town, a spokesman said by phone Monday. Kumejima is 62 miles west of Naha.
About 600 people from 300 households and other businesses were evacuated, according to the town’s website. The operation began at 9 a.m. and lasted 6 ½ hours, the spokesman said.
On June 12, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed a 2-foot-long object found in waters off Ama Beach in Zamami village was a U.S.-made bomb, a spokesman said by phone Monday without elaborating. The bomb was relocated and stored in a safe place underwater until authorities decide what to do with it, he added.
Zamami consists of a group of more than 20 islands 25 miles west of Naha.
Some Japanese government officials may speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
