Posted on 02/12/2007 8:16:01 AM PST by mfnorman
TOKYO (AP) -- An explosion was heard near a U.S. Army base south of Tokyo late Monday and police suspected an attempted attack on the base, Kyodo News agency reported.
The blast was in the area of the U.S. Army's Camp Zama, Kyodo said. The report did not say whether there were injuries or damage.
Police found parts of "launch pad" near the base, Kyodo said, and investigators suspected a "guerrilla attack."
No further details were immediately available
!
Sure doesn't seem to be much info coming out very quickly. I wonder if that's a good sign or bad sign.
Good sign I expect.
Hopefully it means Japanese officials aren't allowing themselves to be overrun by the media and letting the perps gain valuable info.
if my memory serves me correctly it should be after 1:00am there
Thanks for the link, Ben--a bit more info on that thread. It's sounding better--no injuries reported.
We still have troops in Japan!
It's a quagmire!
Bring the troops home!
Sounds like a half-baked homemade attack to protest the deployment of the F-22's to me.
Must be holdouts from WWII. It is a quagmire, I tell you, a quagmire.
Blast reported near U.S. base in Japan
By JOSEPH COLEMAN
TOKYO - A small explosion occurred outside a U.S. Army base south of Tokyo late Monday, police and military officials said. A Japanese news report said police suspected an attempted attack on the base.
The Army was investigating the blast, said an official at Camp Zama who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that there were no reports of injuries or damage.
"A small explosion was heard in the vicinity of the base," said Maj. David Smith, a Pentagon spokesman. "It did not occur on the base."
Kyodo News agency reported that police had found a "launch pad" near the base and suspected an attempted guerrilla attack. The Army could not immediately confirm what had caused the explosion.
A Kanagawa Prefecture police official who only gave his name as Okamura said Zama residents reported hearing the explosion around 11 p.m. and police were investigating.
In 2002, two blasts were heard outside Camp Zama, and Japanese 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.
Leftist extremists in Japan have used projectile launchers against targets related to the U.S. military or on sites connected to the royal family. The attacks are usually more symbolic than dangerous, and injuries or significant damage are rare.
The United States has some 50,000 troops based in Japan under a security treaty. Residents complain of crime, pollution and noise connected to the bases, but large-scale protests of the military presence are largely confined to the southern island of Okinawa.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070212/ap_on_re_as/japan_us_explosion
Fundamentalist shintoites?...........
No worries, soon to be swept under the rug just like this one: http://www.shinmai.co.jp/oly-eng/19980203/98020309.htm
I wouldn't say it's a matter of this being "swept under the rug." It's more like it's not a big deal. The leftists have been doing this for years at various targets. Unless they're actually unlucky enough caught red-handed one of these days, they're not going to be.
3 Feb 1998 -> Mortar attack on Narita airport!
Late 3 Feb 1998 -> Disgruntled Farmers set off crude expolsive device at edge of airport
4 Feb 1998-> Student activists injure 1 with large firecracker
5 Feb 1998 -> ".... crickets ...."
6 Feb 1998-> "....... crickets ....... ....... crickets ....... ....... crickets ......."
7 Feb 1998 -> The Olympics are here! The Olympics are here!
That's so under far the carpet it's in the subflooring. I'm truly surprised that an internet search found a reference to it.
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