Japanese troops removed this U.S.-made shell believed to be from World War II from a construction site near the expressway in Nishihara town, Okinawa, Jan. 7, 2025. (Nishihara town)

Japanese troops last week defused another American-made shell believed to be left over from World War II and removed it from an Okinawa construction site.

Five members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s 101st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit used a crane to move the 5-inch shell into an explosion-proof container and defused it Friday in Nishihara, a spokesman with the town’s Environmental Safety Section said by phone Tuesday.

He declined to say where the shell was taken.

It was found Jan. 7 during a magnetic survey at a construction site for a new interchange on the Okinawa Expressway in the town’s Kochi area, the spokesman said.

Some Japanese government officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.

Earlier that week, Japanese troops detonated eight other U.S.-made shells in waters near Kitanashiro beach in Itoman city, about 3,200 feet west of Ejina island, a city spokesman said Jan. 29.

Japanese troops removed this U.S.-made shell believed to be from World War II from a construction site near the expressway in Nishihara town, Okinawa, Jan. 7, 2025. (Nishihara town)

Last month, Japanese troops removed and defused a 5-inch, U.S. shell found in November at a construction site in the Matsuyama district of Naha city. Another 5-inch, U.S. shell found in October was removed from the Uebaru district and defused in December.

The Japanese government has ramped up searches for unexploded ordnance at airports across the country. The government began surveys in October at Miyazaki Airport on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, after a WWII-era bomb exploded on a taxiway that month.

Magnetic surveys began in December at Naha Airport, along with airports in Sendai, Matsuyama and Fukuoka.

Crews disposed of nearly 22 tons of unexploded ordnance leftover from WWII on Okinawa between April 1, 2023, and March 31.

Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.