Kurume Drill Ground Landing Field

The airfield ceased operations following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II. As a facility of the Imperial Japanese Army, it was decommissioned during the subsequent Allied occupation and demilitarization of Japan. The land was later returned to the Japanese government and repurposed for civilian urban development.

The site of the former landing field and drill ground has been completely redeveloped and is now a central part of Kurume city. The land is occupied by major public and private institutions, including the Kurume University School of Medicine and its large hospital, Kurume Commercial High School, Chuo Park, and the Kurume City Bird Center. The area is also filled with dense residential neighborhoods and commercial properties. There are no visible remnants of the original airfield.

The Kurume Drill Ground Landing Field (久留米練兵場飛行場, Kurume Renpeijō Hikōjō) was an auxiliary airfield used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) before and during World War II. It was not a primary, fully-equipped airbase but rather a large, open grass field that served as a training and emergency landing strip. Its operations were closely linked to the major Tachiarai Army Airfield and the Tachiarai Army Flight School located nearby. The field was primarily used for basic flight training, including take-offs and landings, for student pilots, often using trainer aircraft like the Type 95 Intermediate Trainer (Ki-9 'Spruce'). Its status as a 'drill ground' indicates it was part of a larger military complex used for ground troop exercises, with a section designated for aviation activities.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the airfield. The land is now a densely populated and developed urban area containing critical infrastructure, such as a major university hospital. Re-establishing an airport at this location is physically, socially, and economically impossible.