Japan tank misfire kills three soldiers

Tokyo: An explosion Tuesday in a tank during a military exercise in Japan killed three soldiers, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.

The unusual accident at a training ground used by Japan’s Self-Defence Forces in the southwestern Oita region saw “the tank’s ammunition misfire inside,” killing the three crew members on board and injuring another, Takaichi said.

The details of what caused the accident were under investigation.

“It is truly regrettable this happened,” the prime minister wrote, offering her “heartfelt condolences”.

Meanwhile, Takaichi sent a ritual offering to a shrine honouring the country’s war dead on Tuesday that has long angered neighbouring countries but refrained from visiting it, media reports and an unnamed source close to the matter said.

The Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo is dedicated to 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese, who have perished in conflicts since the late 19th century.

This includes senior military and political figures convicted by an international tribunal of war crimes prior to and during World War II.