Explosion rocks US military facility in Japan

An explosion rips through a US military facility in the Japanese city of Sagamihara in the north-central Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo, the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reports.

Photos and video footage released online on Sunday apparently show several explosions at Sagami General Depot, a US base used for the storage of fuel and munitions.

“I was asleep, and at first thought it might have been the roar of thunder, but then there was a sequence of explosions for 10, maybe 15 minutes. A pillar of orange rose to the skies, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder,” NHK quoted an eyewitness as saying.

The national broadcaster NHK quoted the fire department of Sagamihara as saying that the explosions took place shortly before 1:00 am Monday local time.

More than ten fire trucks have been deployed to the site of the fire.

Japan’s Asahi said that no general evacuation of nearby areas had been called.

Surrounded by urban area, the site houses the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, as well as logistical and medical departments for the US military in the region.

In recent years, the underused base has been the subject of negotiations.

Back in April, three explosions blamed on an extremist group were reported in the vicinity of the base.