Bones Found in Broken Coal Mine

A citizen’s group found human bones in a remain of old coal mine under the sea, which was accidentally soaked in seawater during wartime. Over one hundred workers from Korea died in the accident. Although the group asks the government of Japan to make research for the coal mine, Japan refuses it, arguing that the victims were not categorized as the war dead.

The coal mine is called Chosei Tanko, located offshore of Ube city, Yamaguchi. The mine was run by private firm. It was February, 1942, two months after Imperial Japan joined the World War II, when an accident of cave-in occurred a kilometer away from the coast line. It is recorded that 183 workers were killed, out of which 136 were Koreans. Those victims have not been retrieved for a long time after the war ended in 1945.

 

A citizen’s group established in 1991 started voluntary research in the remain in 2024, after it discovered an entrance of the mine. It continued searches in the mine, sending divers into the tunnel. The divers found human bones and boots in the tunnel at the sixth search in August 2025. The divers brought some bones, including one looking like human skull.

 

War Victims’ Remains Retrieving Act in 2016 mandates the government of Japan to return the war dead to their families. However, it is interpreted that the law only deals with remains of victims in battles. The government of Japan has been regarding the victims in Chosei Tanko as deaths caused by an accident during their work, not the victims of war. It is reluctant to conduct further research in the tunnels.

 

The citizen’s group argues that the accident occurred during the operation to seek strategic materials for the government to wage war. National General Mobilization Act in 1938 enabled the government in the wartime to procure any resources for war without an approval of the parliament. It is likely that the workers in Chosei Tanko were working for the government.

 

The bones discovered in the tunnel was handed to the police. They will be under survey to determine whether they are human bones or not. If the police find them as human bones, it is likely that the families of the victims will demand the government to make detailed research on the mine.

 

The remains are supposed to include bones of Korean workers. An agreement between Japan and South Korea determines that they would research the remains of Korean workers who were mobilized by the Japanese government. If the government decides to research Chosei Tanko, it will affect other cases for retrieving remains of war dead. Discover of bones in Chosei Tanko may work as epoch-making case.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dilemma between Alliance and Constitution

  In the new year ministerial online meeting, Japan and United States resolved to work together to deal with various challenges by China. In the Joint Statement of the Security Consultative Committee, or “2+2,” the ministers of both government, US Secretaries of State and Defense and Japanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, expressed their concerns on Beijing’s efforts, which were recognized as undermining the rule-based order in Indo-Pacific region and the world. On possible countermeasures, however, there still is a possibility of constitutional dispute in Japan over the principle of exclusively defensive security policy. The ministers referred to their concern about China’s activities in the East and the West China Sea. They reaffirmed to apply Article V of US-Japan Treaty of mutual Cooperation and Security to the Senkaku Islands, and strongly objected to China’s unlawful maritime claims, militarization and coercive activities in the South China Sea. They did not forge...
Read more

Oral Argument against Landfill

Governor of Okinawa Denny Tamaki made an unusual appearance to the court on Monday to submit his opinion on the building of new base for United States Force in Henoko, Nago city. “Execution by proxy of the national government, which violates the independency of Okinawa, cannot be accepted,” said Tamaki in the first oral argument at Naha Branch of Fukuoka High Court on the trial over the request of national government to change the design of new base. Accepting demand from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the court closed the trial on the day one.   The national government submitted in 2020 a change of plan for the construction of new base, which was to reinforce the soil of sea base. The government of Okinawa rejected the plan and Tokyo ordered Okinawa accepting it, but Okinawa did not obey, and then Tokyo filed a lawsuit. The Supreme Court decided in September that the order of national government was lawful. Seeing that Okinawa did not approve the plan by ...
Read more

Struggle over a Hearing on Accounting Manager

Without a simple majority in the House of Representatives, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) struggles against the opposition parties on inviting former accounting manager of Abe faction to the Committee on Budget. While the oppositions hope to keep the issue alive until the Upper House election this summer, the LDP wants to terminate the prolonged discussion over the slush fund scandal. The committee still cannot determine the date to begin discussion on FY 2025 budget.   The public prosecutors indicted former accounting manager of Abe faction, Jun-ichiro Matsumoto, with charge of wrong reporting about kickback fund of the faction. Tokyo District Court  sentenced  Matsumoto last September three years of imprisonment with suspension of five years. Matsumoto requested the LDP not to invite him to the Diet, because he had already told about the scandal in the court and had no further information to reveal.   The opposition parties have been demanding a hearing ...
Read more