Hashima Island

Hashima Island (端島), also known as Gunkanjima (軍艦島, meaning “Battleship Island”), is a small, deserted island located approximately 15 kilometers (8 nautical miles) from Nagasaki’s city center. The island, one of 505 uninhabited islands in Nagasaki Prefecture, is renowned for its abandoned concrete structures and surrounding seawall. While Hashima symbolizes Japan’s rapid industrialization, it also serves as a reminder of the country’s wartime history, particularly its use as a forced labor site before and during World War II.

The island covers 6.3 hectares (16 acres) and was once famous for its undersea coal mines, which began operations in 1887 during Japan’s industrialization era. At its peak in 1959, Hashima housed 5,259 residents. However, by 1974, as coal reserves dwindled, the mines closed, and the island was abandoned.

Interest in Hashima resurfaced in the 2000s due to its untouched historical ruins, leading to its reopening as a tourist destination on April 22, 2009. The island’s inclusion as part of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution Sites series earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2015, despite controversy over its history of forced labor. Japan and South Korea negotiated a deal for the island’s inclusion, with Japan agreeing to acknowledge the forced labor history in exhibits. However, Japan’s subsequent denial of forced labor on Hashima has sparked international…