Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo is home to the 374th Airlift Wing, 5th Air Force and U.S. Forces Japan. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Japanese police are investigating a bomb threat against this key U.S. military hub in western Tokyo that also serves as the headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan.
The threat was sent Thursday as a comment through the Fussa city website, demanding approximately $120,000 to prevent an attack between Sunday and Monday, a city official told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.
The same amount of money was demanded in a Tuesday bomb threat against 32 U.S. military installations on Okinawa, which was sent via emails to the Okinawa prefectural and Naha city websites, according to local officials.
Fussa police and the North Kanto Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, were notified of the Yokota threat, the city official said. Police searched areas near the base and alerted U.S. officials, a Fussa police spokesman confirmed.
Officials declined to provide further details, such as the identity of a suspect or where the ransom money was to be sent, citing the ongoing investigation.
Yokota’s gates were closed for about a half-hour Thursday afternoon.
U.S. security officials are working with their Japanese counterparts to investigate the bomb threat to American military facilities in the country, USFJ spokesman Air Force Capt. Danny Rangel said by email Friday evening.
“At this time, we do not perceive a credible threat to our SOFA population,” he said, referring to American personnel in Japan under the status of forces agreement between the two allies.
“Just as we do with natural disasters and other potential threats to our servicemembers and families, we will notify SOFA members if we believe they are at risk,” he wrote.
Yokota has faced similar incidents before. In June 2023, a bomb threat prompted security forces to evacuate several buildings, including a wing headquarters and the base exchange.
