Miyakonojo North Airfield

Military Decommissioning and Abandonment. As an Imperial Japanese Army Air Service base, its purpose became obsolete following Japan's defeat in WWII. The airfield was demilitarized and subsequently abandoned, never being converted for civilian use.

The site of the former airfield has been completely repurposed. It is now occupied by the Miyakonojo Kawahigashi Mega Solar Power Plant, a large-scale photovoltaic power station operated by Kyocera TCL Solar LLC. The original runways, taxiways, and hangars have been entirely removed. However, the distinct rectangular layout of the former military base is still clearly visible in satellite imagery, now covered by thousands of solar panels. The land is dedicated to renewable energy generation.

Miyakonojo North Airfield (known in Japanese as 都城北飛行場, Miyakonojō Kita Hikōjō) was a significant late-war base for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS). Constructed rapidly in 1944, its primary purpose was to serve as a training and forward deployment base for fighter pilots. Its most critical historical role was as a launch point for 'Tokkōtai' (Special Attack or 'Kamikaze') missions during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Squadrons equipped with aircraft such as the Nakajima Ki-43 'Hayabusa' and the powerful Nakajima Ki-84 'Hayate' were stationed here. These units flew sorties from Miyakonojo North to attack the massive US naval fleet supporting the invasion of Okinawa. A memorial dedicated to the fallen members of the special attack units who flew from this base exists in the vicinity.

None. The site has been fundamentally redeveloped into a major, long-term industrial facility (a solar power plant). There are no known plans, proposals, or any practical possibility of converting the land back into an airfield. Its aviation history is now purely a matter of historical record.