A bunker once used by the former Imperial Japanese Army as an emergency headquarters was opened to the media on Wednesday after seismic retrofitting and other work on its aging facilities. Located beneath the grounds of the Defense Ministry in the Ichigaya district of Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, the bunker was scheduled to be open to the public in April. However, the opening will be postponed for the time being due to the new coronavirus outbreak.
Construction of the bunker started in August 1941 and was completed in December the following year, according to the ministry. Occupying an area of about 1,300 square meters, the bunker was built about 15 meters below a building where the general headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army was housed.
The bunker had a room for the minister of the army, a communication room, a kitchen and a bath facility. The bunker is where War Minister Korechika Anami reportedly told military officers of the Emperor's decision to accept the Potsdam Declaration, which was issued by Britain, the United States and China in 1945 to call for Japan's surrender.
It used to be open to the public but was closed due to aging and other reasons. In 2016, a decision was made to use it as a tourist attraction, and the measures against quakes and aging were carried out at a cost of about 100 million yen.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
