Suspected WWII-era bomb dug up near Fukushima nuke plant

TOKYO — A suspected World War II-era bomb was found Thursday during construction work near the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said that a worker spotted it while digging at a parking lot about 1 kilometre (0.6 mile) north of the reactors destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The parking lot is part of the sprawling nuclear plant complex.

TEPCO said that a 200-meter (650-foot) area around the site was closed off. It’s far enough away not to affect the delicate plant decommissioning work, the utility said.