Japanese police were investigating a suspected guerrilla attack on the US Army after two small explosions outside a military base south of Tokyo, police said yesterday.
There were no reports of injury or damage, and no one claimed responsibility, police said.
Investigators found a pair of metal tubes -- apparently improvised rocket launchers aimed toward the Camp Zama base -- at a nearby park, Kanagawa Prefecture police spokesman Hiroyoshi Ichikawa said.
Ichikawa said that he could not rule out a terrorist attack, but that he suspected they were "guerrilla attacks," possibly by leftist extremists. He said that further details were not immediately known, and that police were trying to identify the suspects.
Japanese leftist radicals have in the past launched similar attacks on government facilities and the US military to oppose an airport facility expansion, bilateral security and other issues.
Leftist extremists in Japan have used projectile launchers against targets related to the US military or on sites connected to the royal family. The attacks are usually more symbolic than dangerous, and injuries or significant damage are rare.
Police were searching the neighborhood for more evidence yesterday.
The US Army was also investigating the blast, a Camp Zama official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
"A small explosion was heard in the vicinity of the base," said Major David Smith, a Pentagon spokesman in Washington. "It did not occur on the base."
Security around US bases elsewhere in Japan appeared the same as usual, police said.
Residents outside the Zama base reported hearing two explosions late on Monday night.
The US Army could not immediately confirm the cause of the blasts.
In 2002, two explosions were heard outside Camp Zama, and police found a metal projectile and a crude mortar made from a metal pipe nearby. Investigators blamed radical guerrillas for the explosions, which caused no injuries.
The US has about 50,000 troops based in Japan under a security treaty. Residents complain of crime, pollution and noise associated with the bases, but large-scale protests against the military presence have largely been confined to Okinawa.
The government has stepped up anti-terror security measures around Japan since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number