This screenshot from a Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting news report shows the area where an American-made hand grenade was found near apartment buildings in Kitakyushu city, Fukuoka prefecture, July 29, 2025. (Screenshot from Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting)
Japanese soldiers retrieved a rusty, American-made hand grenade this week at an apartment complex on Kyushu, the country’s southernmost main island, according to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
Soldiers from Camp Metabaru responded to the scene around 4:33 p.m. Tuesday, a base spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday. The grenade, whose date of manufacture is unknown, will be safely disposed of, he said.
The spokesman declined to share further details on the incident. Some Japanese government officials may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Workers mowing the lawn at the complex in the Moji ward of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka prefecture, discovered the device around 12:25 p.m. Tuesday, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported the following day. The apartment management company notified local police, the report said.
The grenade, a little over 4 inches long and 2 inches in diameter, had a fuse but was missing its safety pin and striker lever, according to the report.
About 25 residents from 19 households within a 98-foot radius of the complex were evacuated while Ground Self-Defense Force troops secured the device, the Mainichi Shimbun reported Wednesday.
