Second Wold War bomb unearthed in Tokyo

Unearthing a piece of history - very carefully.

Japanese soldiers lift an unexploded firebomb - thought to be 60 years old - from a construction site in downtown Tokyo.

Officials believe it was dropped by the United States during the waning days of the Second World War.

Police cordoned off a wide section of the Japanese capital - fearful the bomb would detonate.

(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOSHIHITO TAKAHASHI, JAPANESE SELF DEFENSE FORCE UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE DISPOSAL DIVISION, SAYING:

"There are highly flammable chemicals inside the bomb, and they're designed to create fires in the area they're dispersed."

In the months before Japan's surrender in 1945, the U.S. firebombed Tokyo, razing much of the capital and killing more than 100,000 people.