NAHA -- The Okinawa prefectural government is moving to open to the public a bunker built by the Japanese Imperial Army in Naha during the Battle of Okinawa at the end of World War II.
The 32nd Army Headquarters bunker in the southern part of Okinawa Island was the site where the Japanese army decided to withdraw even further south on the island and continue fight, which led to great suffering for the Okinawan people. There have been several efforts in the past to open the important historic site to the public, but they had to be dropped due to unsafe conditions inside.
The Okinawa government has linked the project to the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to Japan and will begin a full-scale survey to find a safe way to open the site to the public, such as boring to determine the solidity of the ground. The survey will begin in the next fiscal year, which starts April.
