Overview
- An anti-tank shell exploded inside a Type 10 turret during a live-fire drill at the Hijudai training area in Oita on Tuesday, killing three soldiers and seriously injuring a fourth.
- The GSDF identified the dead as Sgt. 1st Class Kentaro Hamabe, 45, the commander, Sgt. Shingo Takayama, 31, the gunner, and Sgt. Kozo Kanai, 30, the safety officer.
- The injured crew member was the driver, who sits in the hull separate from the turret where the blast occurred.
- GSDF Chief of Staff Gen. Masayoshi Arai suspended live-fire drills that use the same shells for Type 10 and Type 90 tanks and ordered an investigation.
- The Western Army Tank Unit from Camp Kusu was conducting the drill at Hijudai on Kyushu, a major range also used for joint training with U.S. forces.