BFF-79 Thousands of guns, swords, bullets found buried at Tokyo school

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JAPAN-SCHOOL-WEAPONRY-WWII

Thousands of guns, swords, bullets found buried at Tokyo school

TOKYO, Aug 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Some 3,000 pieces of military equipment
including guns, swords and grenades believed to date back to World War II
have been found buried at a Tokyo elementary school, officials said Monday.

Construction workers found the weapons last month when they excavated the
grounds of Tanashi Elementary School in the city of Nishitokyo in
metropolitan Tokyo to build a new storehouse.

The weapons included 1,400 firearms, 1,200 swords, eight grenades and 302
bullets.

“We were totally surprised to be informed about the discovery,” said Masaki
Fujisawa, a city official. “The items are all rusted away and nothing can be
used anymore.”

“I suspect they were buried during or after the war but we will investigate
the case,” Fujisawa told AFP.

News reports said the weapons may have been discarded after Japan
surrendered in 1945.

Unexploded bombs and weapons are still occasionally found in Japan, more
than 70 years after the conflict ended.

BSS/AFP/SSS/2006 hrs