CHIBA -- A bomb blast early Tuesday damaged the car of a Chiba Prefectural Government official connected with a project to expand Narita airport, the police said.
Masaji Ikuta, 54, heard an explosion at around 2:45 a.m. while at home in Mutsuzawa, Chiba Prefecture. When he went out to investigate, he found the rear of his car had been dented and that one of the wheels had been blown off, police said.
Police officers investigating the scene found remnants of wires and vinyl chloride pipes on the road.
Police said they suspect the bomb was set off by extremists opposed to the expansion of Narita airport.
Ikuta heads a prefectural government team that is studying the construction of a new railroad line that would link Narita airport with central Tokyo.
This was the third attack this year related to the airport's expansion, the police said.