Coal mine accident in Japan

Due to technological development in the early 20th century,

Even in Japan

Under the sea!

It became possible to mine coal.

A submarine coal mine was developed in this way in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

That is the famous Josei Coal Mine.

There was also Okinoyama Coal Mine, but no major accidents like the ones below occurred there.

Japan was in dire need of coal during the Pacific War.

By breaking the rule that only undersea coal mines should be mined 47 meters below the sea floor.

Start mining coal from low places

February 3, 1942

In the end, the middle collapsed

Coal mine submerged

A catastrophe occurs in which internal workers are killed.

183 deaths

This kind of dark history

Coal mining companies and the Japanese government buried it.

(It seems that the Japanese government did not have the ability to resolve the issue)

The Japanese who could not forget this accident

I keep remembering

(Formation of a group to record the 1991 Josei Coal Mine submersion accident in history)

Despite the Japanese government’s passive response,

Promote recovery of victims

At the end of August 2025, we finally entered the inside of the coal mine.

Some of the victims’ remains will be recovered after 83 years.

At this meeting, it was said that the Japanese government should take the lead in conducting DNA analysis of human remains.

Prime Minister Ishiba also mentioned the need for an appraisal, but

They haven’t done it yet

For reference, among the dead

136 people are Korean

The diver who recovered the remains is also Korean.