Who is responsible for the unexploded bombs in Okinawa?
An excerpt from an Asahi editorial calling on the Japanese government to do more about the costs of searching for bombs at construction sites and paying compensation to those hurt or killed when such bombs explode:
Japan’s wartime government was responsible for the Battle of Okinawa. Many people in Okinawa argue the government today should take responsible action on the problem of unexploded bombs and shells as part of its efforts to deal with the consequences of the war.
That is a reasonable demand. The government, which has decided to leave the compensation issue to future discussions, should earnestly tackle the issue of creating a system to compensate victims of these war legacies.
Searches with magnetic metal detectors before digging are essential for discovering unexploded ordnance at work sites. But neither contractors that actually carry out work nor entities that contract out the work are legally required to conduct such searches.
Many municipal or private-sector projects start without the magnetic surveys because of concerns about cost and schedule.
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