A sudden explosion occurred at a US military base station in Japan! Four self-defense members were rushed to the hospital in an emergency
A fire flashed, and a loud noise shook the sky - an explosion occurred at the largest military base in the Far East of the US military today, and all the injured were Japanese.
Local timeAbruptly broke out in the Kadena base of the US military stationed in Japan in Okinawa, Japan. According to the Okinawa Fire Rescue Department, the explosion occurred in a facility managed by the Japanese Self-Defense Force at the base. At that time, the "dud handling force" of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force was operating on the spot.
A total of 4 Japanese Self-Defense Force members were rushed to the hospital at the scene, one of whom had a burned finger. Fortunately, all injured people are conscious and are not in danger of life. The fire rescue department confirmed that this was a small-scale explosion without causing a fire.
01 Core details of the explosion
The explosion site is located in the Kadena base ">Temporary storage facility for recycling "dud". At that time, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force dud handlers were dealing with unexploded ammunition, which mainly came from duds recovered after the joint US-Japan military exercise.
The US military remained silent, and the Japanese Ministry of Defense only responded to "confirming information". The explosion occurred within the scope of the US military base, but all the injured were members of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.
Kadena Air Force Base, as the largest air force base in the Far East, accounts for about one-quarter of Okinawa's total area. The base has deployed heavy fighter jets such as F-35 and F-15 and a large number of arms, and the risk of accidents is highly concentrated.
02 Historical background and deep problems
This explosion once again triggered doubts about Japan's sovereign control. Although the explosion facilities are managed by Japan, the source of ammunition, storage method and safety standards of ammunition are all dominated by the US military. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces are almost unable to interfere in this.
Under the Japan-US Status Agreement signed in 1951, the US military enjoys almost complete immunity of legal liability in Japan. The Okinawan people have long demanded that the agreement be revised to include the US military in Japan's legal system, but have always been avoided by the Japanese central government.
Okinawa's area is less than 1% of Japan's territory, but it bears more than 70% of the US military stationed in Japan. Local people have been living in military risks for a long time. In 2004, U.S. military helicopter crashed into universities and discovered U.S. military bullets in residential areas in 2008.
The smoke from the explosion has dissipated, but the smoke from the problem has not dissipated. When the Self-Defense Force members were injured in their territory for handling residual duds in US military exercises, the US remained silent, and Tokyo only said it was "investigated."
Every accident at the US military base is tortureting Japan's sovereignty. Okinawa, a land that is less than 1% of Japan's territory, bears more than 70% of the country's US military presence. When will the protests from local people bring about real changes in the system?
