The NHK Special program, which will be broadcast on NHK General TV from 9:00 p.m. on June 22nd, is titled "Unexploded Bomb Disposal: The Threat Lurking Just Below Our Feet," and will focus on the activities of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, which is also known as the never-ending cleanup of the war.
Over 200,000 people died in the Battle of Okinawa due to fierce ground fighting. During the war, the US military used about 200,000 tons of ammunition in Okinawa, of which it is estimated that about 10,000 tons remained as unexploded ordnance. This program followed the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's 101st Unexploded Bomb Disposal Unit, tasked with disposing of unexploded ordnance, for a year.
Last October, an American-made unexploded bomb suddenly exploded at Miyazaki Airport, creating a hole seven meters in diameter and sending shock waves across the country. In June, an explosion occurred at a temporary storage facility for unexploded bombs, injuring personnel.
There are many unexploded bombs that were dropped during the war and are buried underground all over the country. The number of unexploded bombs that are disposed of nationwide reaches about 1,800 per year, and in Okinawa, they are being disposed of at a rate of more than one per day. They are being discovered one after another in familiar places such as farmland, construction sites, and densely populated residential areas, and sometimes large bombs with detonators still attached are found right in the middle of residential areas.
The members of the team who rush to the scene when there is an emergency request say, "We are writing something like a will in case something happens," and "The postwar cleanup will never be complete unless we proceed carefully, one step at a time."
In Okinawa, more than 700 people are known to have lost their lives in explosions since the end of the war. As we interview victims and those involved, we find that the victims have not received compensation, responsibility remains unclear, and relief is insufficient. 80 years after the war. Based on a long-term follow-up to an unexploded ordnance disposal team, we look at the current situation overseas, where unexploded ordnance continues to cause suffering as a result of being caught up in the war between Japan and the United States, and the threat that unexploded ordnance, the negative legacy of war, poses for centuries to come.
