Japan's transport ministry said on August 30 that a washer on an Air Nippon jetliner was found to be missing, similar to the case of the China Airlines plane that exploded earlier at Naha airport.

The Boeing 700 plane lacked the washer for a bolt in the brace of a slat on the front edge of one wing even though the bolt itself was in place, according to Japan's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

The finding follows emergency checks by three Japanese airlines of all their airplanes of the same series as China Airlines' Boeing 737-800 that are in service in Japan.