Three Ground Self-Defense Force members died and one other was seriously injured Tuesday after an explosion occurred inside a tank during training at the Hijudai maneuver area in Oita Prefecture.
The GSDF unit had been conducting target practice with a Type 10 tank when a shell detonated prematurely inside the gun turret, GSDF officials said.
The explosion, which occurred at around 8:40 a.m., killed Sgt. 1st Class Kentaro Hamabe, 45, Sgt. Shingo Takayama, 31, and Sgt. Kozo Kanai, 30, officials said.
A female member in her 20s was injured but conscious after the incident, local media reported, saying that she was airlifted to a hospital.?
Gen. Masayoshi Arai, the GSDF chief of staff, told a news conference later Tuesday that an investigation committee had been established at the GSDF¡¯s Western Army Headquarters in the city of Kumamoto.
¡°The GSDF is committed to promptly determining the cause and taking thorough measures to prevent a recurrence,¡± Arai said.
¡°While we are currently verifying the details of the incident and its cause, in response to this incident, the GSDF has ordered the suspension of firing drills using Type 10 tanks, as well as firing drills using Type 90 tanks that employ the same type of ammunition as in (Tuesday¡¯s) training exercise.¡±
Arai said the ammunition in question was known as an anti-tank high-explosive shell.
Exercises involving the firing of dummy rounds have also been canceled, defense officials said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered her condolences over the incident, saying in a post on social media platform X that the government ¡°is committed to determining the cause of this incident and will strive to ensure thorough safety management.¡±
The explosion is the first major incident involving the Japanese defense forces?since last May, when an Air Self-Defense Force T-4 training plane with two aboard crashed into a reservoir minutes after takeoff from the Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture, killing both crew members.
The GSDF¡¯s deadliest accident ever occurred in April 2023, when a UH-60JA multipurpose helicopter crashed off Okinawa Prefecture¡¯s Miyako Island, killing all 10 aboard.
The majority of high-profile incidents involving the SDF have involved aircraft, including the April 2024 collision of two Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K helicopters during nighttime training off a remote island near Tokyo. The incident left all eight aboard both choppers dead.
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