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> Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound US bomb The article was a bit la

> Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound US bomb The article was a bit lacking. How do they know that it was a 500 pound bomb from WW2? Is it the shrapnel or is there a different way to determine it?

jazzyjackson 2y ago
Likely because no one's dropped bombs on Japan since then
- ImJamal 2y ago
  Somebody could have planted a bomb (if it was actually a WW2 bomb that doesn't seem likely) or it could have fallen off a plane before (not sure if there 500 pound bombs before the war?) or after the war.
  - kayodelycaon 2y ago
    That absolutely can be a WWII bomb. They are still finding unexploded artillery shells from the first world war in France! Let me repeat that, hundred-year-old shells are still underground, intact, and the explosives in them are just as powerful as when they were manufactured. Chemicals in fuse can slowly combine until they detonate. The odds of someone planting more explosives in a field potentially containing a dozen WWII bombs from multiple attacks are remote.
    - ImJamal 2y ago
      You are not addressing anything of my question. I don't care if 99.9999999% of bombs that go off are from WW2. Not every bomb that goes off is from WW2. How did they determine if this bomb was actually from WW2? Is it just an assumption or did they check something? The article did not clarify that point and just stated it as a fact.
      - AStonesThrow 2y ago
        Forensics identified a valid digital certificate matching ww2.co.jp. The issuing CA is currently denying responsibility.
      - wkat4242 2y ago
        It's pretty easy to identify from the shrapnel.
        ImJamal 2y ago
        I understand that it is easy, but is this what they did? That was my whole question and nobody is actually answering my question
        shiroiushi 2y ago
        Because it's a silly question. The airport was bombed in WWII by the US, just like the rest of the country, and Japan wasn't in any war since then, nor was it in any war before then when it would have had such bombs dropped on this location (there was a naval war with Russia in the 1900s, but that didn't result in bombs dropped on Japan). So basically you're asking for forensic evidence to prove that this bomb wasn't the result of time-travelers or teleporters or something equally fantastical. It's a ridiculous question. Of course it's an unexploded WWII bomb, what the hell else would it be?
      - scanny 2y ago
        Usually shrapnel, working out the depth at which it exploded, the nature of the explosion (recorded on video), and historical evidence of bombing. There is a buch of forensic methods around this.
        ImJamal 2y ago
        I understand that is what is usually used, but I was asking for the actual details which was scanty in the article. Is this what they did or are they still looking into the forensics?
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    Planting a bomb especially of that size (needing a vehicle and multiple men to move) in the ground under a paved taxiway at a major airport without anyone noticing? Not very likely. The WWII explanation is much more plausible. It happens at Schiphol too that they find them (luckily not by them exploding randomly but usually during construction efforts)
aidenn0 2y ago
Thousands of tons of bombs were dropped on Japan in WW2. Many of them didn't explode. This airport was apparently an active airfield at the time the US was bombing Japan and 500lb bombs were the sort of thing used to destroy parked planes. Yes, someone could have snuck into an airport and buried a bomb underneath the runway, then cleaned up the digging operation so as to not be noticed, but horses, not zebras.
- ImJamal 2y ago
  If it wasn't from the war, then the more likely scenario is the bomb feel off a plane after the war than somebody snuck into the airfield. Bombs do fall off planes. My question was more of, how do they determine this sort of thing or is it just an assumption because it is the most likely scenario?
  - kayodelycaon 2y ago
    You’re assuming the bombs like this were removed after the war. They weren’t. No one knew they were there. We are still finding unexploded artillery shells from the first world war in France. Germans are still finding bombs in cities. The chemicals in the fuses mix and become unstable over time. The explosives don’t degrade as much. If you wanted further verification, the bomb casing leaves fragments and explosives leave residue.
    - ImJamal 2y ago
      I'm not doing anything of the sort. I know bombs are still there from WW2. Just because there are still bombs from WW2 does not mean that every bomb that goes off is from WW2. While it is likely that the bomb is from the war, I haven't seen what evidence they have confirming that. That is all I am asking for.
      - kingaillas 2y ago
        The evidence is likely simple deduction, as in asking "when was the last time this area was bombed" combined with the history of the airport (built for the military in 1943, later converted to civilian use) and also noting other unexploded bombs have been unearthed in the area. For it NOT to be a WW2 bomb would mean somebody sneaking in another bomb and paving it under the runway without being noticed.

jazzyjackson 2y ago

Likely because no one's dropped bombs on Japan since then

ImJamal 2y ago
Somebody could have planted a bomb (if it was actually a WW2 bomb that doesn't seem likely) or it could have fallen off a plane before (not sure if there 500 pound bombs before the war?) or after the war.
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  That absolutely can be a WWII bomb. They are still finding unexploded artillery shells from the first world war in France! Let me repeat that, hundred-year-old shells are still underground, intact, and the explosives in them are just as powerful as when they were manufactured. Chemicals in fuse can slowly combine until they detonate. The odds of someone planting more explosives in a field potentially containing a dozen WWII bombs from multiple attacks are remote.
  - ImJamal 2y ago
    You are not addressing anything of my question. I don't care if 99.9999999% of bombs that go off are from WW2. Not every bomb that goes off is from WW2. How did they determine if this bomb was actually from WW2? Is it just an assumption or did they check something? The article did not clarify that point and just stated it as a fact.
    - AStonesThrow 2y ago
      Forensics identified a valid digital certificate matching ww2.co.jp. The issuing CA is currently denying responsibility.
    - wkat4242 2y ago
      It's pretty easy to identify from the shrapnel.
      - ImJamal 2y ago
        I understand that it is easy, but is this what they did? That was my whole question and nobody is actually answering my question
        shiroiushi 2y ago
        Because it's a silly question. The airport was bombed in WWII by the US, just like the rest of the country, and Japan wasn't in any war since then, nor was it in any war before then when it would have had such bombs dropped on this location (there was a naval war with Russia in the 1900s, but that didn't result in bombs dropped on Japan). So basically you're asking for forensic evidence to prove that this bomb wasn't the result of time-travelers or teleporters or something equally fantastical. It's a ridiculous question. Of course it's an unexploded WWII bomb, what the hell else would it be?
    - scanny 2y ago
      Usually shrapnel, working out the depth at which it exploded, the nature of the explosion (recorded on video), and historical evidence of bombing. There is a buch of forensic methods around this.
      - ImJamal 2y ago
        I understand that is what is usually used, but I was asking for the actual details which was scanty in the article. Is this what they did or are they still looking into the forensics?
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Planting a bomb especially of that size (needing a vehicle and multiple men to move) in the ground under a paved taxiway at a major airport without anyone noticing? Not very likely. The WWII explanation is much more plausible. It happens at Schiphol too that they find them (luckily not by them exploding randomly but usually during construction efforts)

aidenn0 2y ago

Thousands of tons of bombs were dropped on Japan in WW2. Many of them didn't explode. This airport was apparently an active airfield at the time the US was bombing Japan and 500lb bombs were the sort of thing used to destroy parked planes. Yes, someone could have snuck into an airport and buried a bomb underneath the runway, then cleaned up the digging operation so as to not be noticed, but horses, not zebras.

ImJamal 2y ago
If it wasn't from the war, then the more likely scenario is the bomb feel off a plane after the war than somebody snuck into the airfield. Bombs do fall off planes. My question was more of, how do they determine this sort of thing or is it just an assumption because it is the most likely scenario?
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  You’re assuming the bombs like this were removed after the war. They weren’t. No one knew they were there. We are still finding unexploded artillery shells from the first world war in France. Germans are still finding bombs in cities. The chemicals in the fuses mix and become unstable over time. The explosives don’t degrade as much. If you wanted further verification, the bomb casing leaves fragments and explosives leave residue.
  - ImJamal 2y ago
    I'm not doing anything of the sort. I know bombs are still there from WW2. Just because there are still bombs from WW2 does not mean that every bomb that goes off is from WW2. While it is likely that the bomb is from the war, I haven't seen what evidence they have confirming that. That is all I am asking for.
    - kingaillas 2y ago
      The evidence is likely simple deduction, as in asking "when was the last time this area was bombed" combined with the history of the airport (built for the military in 1943, later converted to civilian use) and also noting other unexploded bombs have been unearthed in the area. For it NOT to be a WW2 bomb would mean somebody sneaking in another bomb and paving it under the runway without being noticed.