The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-06-30
American Ships Reconnoitering! Okinoerabu Coast, Next Major
 Isle On Japan Invasion Route
BY WILLIAM F. THREE

BY WILLIAM F. THREE
 Guam, June 30- (UP} - Tokyo said today that Amer5 ican destroyers and nine1 sweepers were oitering the coast of Okinoerabu, next major island stepping stona north of Okinawa on the in& vasion route to Japan.
 The Japanese have been predicting for some time that the United States. may invade one or more addition al islallds north of OkinaWa before landing on Japan pro- per. Okinoerabu is part of the Amami group and lies 40 miles above Okinawa and 25O miles southwest of Japan.
 Radio Tokyo said several destroy CTS and minesweepers approached the coast of Okinoerabu on recon naissance this morning. One broad- cast said cruiser also was in the naval force.
 Kume Occupied The report followed close on ,A Pacific fleet headquarters commun- ique announcing the bloodless Amer ican occupation of Kume Island, 30 miles west of Okinawa and 18th Ryukyu Island to be captured.
 Over Japan itself, B-29 superfort- resses extended their aerial block ade of the west coast of Honshu an- other 85 miles to the north in an attempt to prevent large-scale trans- fer of bombed and invasion threat. ened industries to Manchuria. Japan set up another anti-inva- sion defense command on the main island of Honshu, enemy broadcasts said. This one encompasses six per- | lectures of northern Honshu and will be commanded by Gen. Kei- suke FujSe,s Tokyo said.
 Radio Tokyo said 10 B-29s swept across the main Japanese home iS-l land of Honshu between midnight and 1 a. m. and sowed mines in the two largest harbors on the north- west coast-Niigata, 150 miles north of Tokyo, and Sakata, 85 miles farther north.
 It was the superfortresses' first visit to Sakta and their deepest penetration yet of Japan. With the disruption of transportation in southern Japan by heavy air attacks, Niigata and Sakata well may be the main ports for the shipment of Jap- anese war plants and personnel to Manchuria. Radio Tokyo revealed she naas industrial movement across the xees of Japan yesterday. By this meanss Tokyo said, Japan was preparing tos carry on the war even after shexI homeland plants have been smash ed and the country itself invaded.
 The mining foray came less than an hour after 50 other superfort- resses bombed the Nippon oil Conn@ pany plant at Kundamatsu on thu southwest tip of Honshu, possibly Japans biggest surviving oil refin- cry.
 Navy Liberators from Okinawn joined in the bombardment of thu Japanese homeland yesterday, at tacking shipping, warehouses and . railway tunnel around KatsuurH harbor southeast of Tokyo. They al- so sank a small cargo ship south o6 Honshu and fishing vessel south of Shikohu. N
 South of Japan, American ground forces seized their 18th island in the Ryukyus, Kume, 2l-square- mile chunk of land 50 miles west of Okinawa, $50 miles fro ,mthe Chl% na coast and 400 miles southweSt of Kyushu.
 Kume JapIess
 Admiral Chester w. Nimitx re- ported in communique that h1s troops occupied Kume without finding a trace of Japanese soldiers. Radio Tokyo first reported tho landing three days ago, but claimed a Japanese garrison had intercept- ed the invaders in "heavy fighting. '
 The thrust expanded the Amer ican foothold in the central Ryukyus 1 lO1 d1l 1Atdo1OA W C1blA(1 Ookto4+ or China. Forests. cover three- quarters of Kume and deep clnAn- nel cuts through a coral reef that almost entirely surrounds the is- land. Ag s
 Kume had a population of al3s 414 civilians in 1940, but the pfeg- ent number of inhabitants was not known.
 Marine and army planes from Okinawa attacked enemy shipping and installations in the tAmamt Is- lands, of which Okinoerabu s one and the Sakishimas, just southBeGt of Okinawa. Thursday and Fridays
 The superfortress raid on the soix refinery at Kudamatsu just bef0ro midnight last night was the Q6t6 BPS attack of the war on the ene- my homeland and boosted the todk> mage dropped on Japan this montz1 to 30,500. | Only 20 hours earlier, . u1a1ck fleet of 450 to 800 B-20s had r11o13
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