Japanese airport reopens after bomb blast

Miyazaki airport in southern Japan originated in 1943 as an imperial Japanese navy base, sending dozens of "kamikaze" aircraft on suicide missions.

Footage obtained by AFP showed a plume of earth blasting at least 10 m into the air on the edge of a taxiway at the airport on the island of Kyushu.

The explosion, which blew a hole in the tarmac a few meters across, occurred just less than a minute after an aircraft rolled past towards a runway, footage showed.

There were no reports of injuries but dozens of flights were cancelled on Wednesday, affecting more than 3,400 passengers.

The Self-Defence Forces’ (SDF) bomb disposal team investigated and concluded that it was a "U.S.-made 250 kg bomb", an SDF spokesman told AFP.

Other unexploded U.S. ordnance dropped was reportedly found in 2021 and 2011 in the airport, as well as at a nearby construction site in 2009.