Hashima Island

Battleship Island is an English translation of the Japanese nickname for Hashima Island, Gunkanjima ({{Transliteration|ja|gunkan}} meaning warship, {{Transliteration|ja|Jima}} being the rendaku form of {{Transliteration|ja|Shima}}, meaning island). The island's nickname came from its resemblance from a distance to the Japanese battleship Tosa.{{Cite news |last=Kawamoto |first=Yasuhiko |date=17 February 2009 |title=Deserted 'Battleship Isle' may become heritage ghost ship |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/02/17/national/deserted-battleship-isle-may-become-heritage-ghost-ship/ |newspaper=The Japan Times |agency=Kyodo News |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920220532/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/02/17/national/deserted-battleship-isle-may-become-heritage-ghost-ship/ |url-status=live }}

File:Hashima apartment building circa 1930.JPG

File:Hashima Gunkan jima Nagasaki.jpg]]

File:Hashima circa 1930.JPG

File:Nagasaki Hashima 01.png

Coal was first discovered on the island around 1810,{{cite book |last1=Sakamoto |first1=Dotoku |last2=Gotoh |first2= Keinosuke |date=2005 |script-title=ja:軍艦島の遺産: 風化する近代日本の象徴 |trans-title=The Heritage of Gunkanjima: Fading symbol of modernisation period |language=ja |publisher=Nagasaki Shimbunsya |page=34}} and the island was continuously inhabited from 1887 to 1974 as a seabed coal mining facility. Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha bought the island in 1890 and began extracting coal from undersea mines, while seawalls and land reclamation (which tripled the size of the island{{Citation needed|date=March 2018|reason=I thought I read it was more like 40% of the island is reclaimed.}}) were constructed. Four main mine-shafts (reaching up to a kilometre deep) were built, with one actually connecting it to a neighbouring island. Between 1891 and 1974, around 15.7 million tons of coal were excavated in mines with temperatures of 30 °C and 95% humidity.

In 1916, the company built Japan's first large reinforced concrete building (a 7-floor miner's apartment block),{{citation |title = Der Spiegel |url = http://einestages.spiegel.de/external/ShowTopicAlbumBackground/a5562/l29/l0/F.html#featuredEntry |place = DE |language = de |format = Article |access-date = 9 April 2010 |archive-date = 13 April 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100413005911/http://einestages.spiegel.de/external/ShowTopicAlbumBackground/a5562/l29/l0/F.html#featuredEntry |url-status = live }} to accommodate their burgeoning ranks of workers. Concrete was specifically used to protect against typhoon destruction. Over the next 55 years, more buildings were constructed, including apartment blocks, a school, kindergarten, hospital, town hall, and a community centre. For entertainment, a clubhouse, cinema, communal bath, swimming pool, rooftop gardens, shops, and a pachinko parlour were built for the miners and their families.

Beginning in 1930s and until the end of World War II, conscripted Korean civilians and Chinese prisoners of war were forced to work under very harsh conditions and brutal treatment at the Mitsubishi facility as forced labourers under Japanese wartime mobilisation policies.{{cite news |title=1999 report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations |url=http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09661/09661(1999-87).pdf |access-date=16 September 2015 |work=the International Labour Organization |date=1999 |archive-date=30 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530222925/http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09661/09661%281999-87%29.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Japan's 007 island still carries scars of wartime past, Compulsory Mobilisation |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/11/world/asia/japan-hashima-island-magnay/ |access-date=22 August 2013 |website=CNN |date=13 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827133034/http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/11/world/asia/japan-hashima-island-magnay/? |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Hashima — forgotten island of tragedy |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/117_121502.html |access-date=11 September 2015 |work=The Korea Times |date=4 October 2012 |archive-date=28 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928062758/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/117_121502.html |url-status=live }} During this period, many of these conscripted labourers died on the island due to various dangers, including underground accidents, exhaustion, and malnutrition; 137 died by one estimate;NPO西山夘三記念すまい・ままちづくり文庫 『軍艦島の生活<1952/1970>:住宅学者西山夘三の端島住宅調査レポート』創元社、2015. {{ISBN|978-4422700991}}、p. 154. about 1,300 by another.{{Cite web |last=Burke-Gaffney |first=Brian |title=Hashima: The Ghost Island {{!}} Brian Burke-Gaffney |url=https://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/7/burke-gaffney.php |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=cabinetmagazine.org |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426172638/https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/7/burke-gaffney.php |url-status=live }}

In 1959, the {{convert|6.3|ha|acre|adj=on}} island's population reached its peak of 5,259, with a population density of 835 people per hectare (83,634 people/km², 216,264 people per square mile) for the whole island, or 1,391 per hectare (139,100 people/km²) for the residential district.{{cite news |title=Japan's 007 island still carries scars of wartime past |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/11/world/asia/japan-hashima-island-magnay |access-date=22 August 2013 |website=CNN |date=13 June 2013 |archive-date=30 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530222926/https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/11/world/asia/japan-hashima-island-magnay |url-status=live }}

As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down across the country, and Hashima's mines were no exception. Mitsubishi officially closed the mine in January 1974, and the island was cleared of inhabitants on 20 April.{{Sfn|Sakamoto|Gotoh|2005|page=172}}

Today, its most notable features are the abandoned and still mostly-intact concrete apartment buildings, the surrounding seawall, and its distinctive profile shape. The island has been administered as part of Nagasaki city since the merger with the former town of Takashima in 2005. Travel to Hashima was re-opened on 22 April 2009, after 35 years of closure.{{cite news |date=21 April 2009 |title=Abandoned 'Battleship Island' to reopen to public in Nagasaki |agency=The Mainichi Daily News |place=Japan |url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20090421p2a00m0na011000c.html |access-date=22 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422161957/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20090421p2a00m0na011000c.html |archive-date=22 April 2009}}

File:Hashima Island 14.jpg

The island was owned by Mitsubishi until 2002, when it was voluntarily transferred to Takashima Town. Currently, Nagasaki City, which absorbed Takashima Town in 2005, exercises jurisdiction over the island. On 23 August 2005, landing was permitted by the city hall to journalists only. At the time, Nagasaki City planned the restoration of a pier for tourist landings in April 2008. In addition a visitor walkway 220 meters (722 feet) in length was planned, and entry to unsafe building areas was to be prohibited. Due to the delay in development construction, however, at the end of 2007, the city announced that public access was delayed until spring 2009. Additionally the city encountered safety concerns, arising from the risk of collapse of the buildings on the island due to significant ageing.

It was estimated that landing of tourists would only be feasible for fewer than 160 days per year because of the area's harsh weather. For reasons of cost-effectiveness, the city considered cancelling plans to extend the visitor walkway further—for an approximate 300 metres (984 feet) toward the eastern part of the island and approximately 190 metres (623 feet) toward the western part of the island—after 2009.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} A small portion of the island was finally reopened for tourism in 2009, but more than 95% of the island is strictly delineated as off-limits during tours.{{cite web|last=Bender|first=Andrew|title=The Mystery Island From 'Skyfall' And How You Can Go There|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/11/09/the-mystery-island-from-skyfall-and-how-you-can-go-there/|work=Forbes|access-date=26 May 2014|archive-date=25 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925161637/http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/11/09/the-mystery-island-from-skyfall-and-how-you-can-go-there/|url-status=live}} A full reopening of the island would require substantial investment in safety, and detract from the historical state of the aged buildings on the property.

The island is increasingly gaining international attention not only generally for its modern regional heritage, but also for the undisturbed housing complex remnants representative of the period from the Taishō period to the Shōwa period. It has become a frequent subject of discussion among enthusiasts for ruins. Since the abandoned island has not been maintained, several buildings have collapsed, mainly due to typhoon damage, and other buildings are in danger of collapse. However, some of the collapsed exterior walls have been restored with concrete.{{cite web|author=Pulin|title=2009-11-29|script-title=ja:昔の思い出 昭和末期の長崎の端島（いわゆる軍艦島）のこと|language=ja|url=http://d.hatena.ne.jp/Pulin/20091129|access-date=16 August 2014|archive-date=20 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820034426/http://d.hatena.ne.jp/Pulin/20091129|url-status=live}}

File:Nagasaki Hashima Gunkanjima1.JPG

When people resided on the island, the Nomo Shosen line served the island from Nagasaki Port via Iōjima Island and Takashima Island. Twelve round-trip services were available per day in 1970. It took 50 minutes to travel from the island to Nagasaki. After all residents left the island, this direct route was discontinued.

Since April 2009, the island has been open for public visits,{{Citation |title=Nagasaki Travel: Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) |date=28 May 2009 |url=http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4414.html |access-date=18 November 2010 |publisher=Japan guide |archive-date=25 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125093701/http://japan-guide.com/e/e4414.html |url-status=live }} although there are restrictions by Nagasaki city's ordinance.{{cite act|type=|index=|date=19 December 2008|article=|article-type=|legislature=Nagasaki|title=長崎市端島見学施設条例|trans-title=Nagasaki city ordinance on visit to Hashima island facilities|page=|url=https://www1.g-reiki.net/nagasaki/reiki_honbun/q302RG00001100.html|language=ja}}{{cite act|type=|index=|date=19 December 2008|article=|article-type=|legislature=Nagasaki|title=端島への立ち入りの制限に関する条例|trans-title=Ordinance related to restriction of landing on Hashima island|page=|url=https://www1.g-reiki.net/nagasaki/reiki_honbun/q302RG00001102.html|language=ja}}

{{See also|Japanese history textbook controversies}}In 2009, Japan requested to include Hashima Island, along with 22 other industrial sites, in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. The inclusion of Hashima in particular was condemned by the South Korean, North Korean, and Chinese governments.{{Cite web |author=Leo Byrne |date=20 May 2015 |title=North Korea lashes out at Japan's UNESCO candidates |url=http://www.nknews.org/2015/05/north-korea-lashes-out-at-japans-unesco-candidates/ |access-date=23 May 2015 |work=NK News |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130055536/https://www.nknews.org/2015/05/north-korea-lashes-out-at-japans-unesco-candidates/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=24 June 2015 |title=Story of Japan's industrial rise deserves to be told, forced labor and all |work=The Japan Times |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/06/24/voices/story-japans-industrial-rise-deserves-told-forced-labor/ |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-date=5 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705110735/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/06/24/voices/story-japans-industrial-rise-deserves-told-forced-labor/ |url-status=live }} South Korea argued that the official recognition of those sites would "violate the dignity of the survivors of forced labour" and that "World Heritage sites should [...] be acceptable by all peoples across the globe".

South Korea and Japan eventually agreed on a compromise: that Japan would present information about the use of forced labour in relevant sites and both nations would cooperate towards the approval of each other's World Heritage Site candidates.{{cite news|title=Japan, S. Korea agree to cooperate on respective World Heritage site candidacies |url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201506220035 |access-date=18 September 2015 |work=The Asahi Shimbun |date=22 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008133516/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201506220035 |archive-date=8 October 2015 }}{{cite news | title=Japan, Korea Breakthrough: Japanese Repenting 'Forced' Korean Labor On UNESCO Heritage Sites | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/donaldkirk/2015/07/06/japan-agrees-with-korea-on-world-heritage-sites-admitting-forced-labor-an-omen-for-future/ | access-date=18 September 2015 | work=Forbes Asia | date=6 July 2015 | archive-date=13 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913101917/http://www.forbes.com/sites/donaldkirk/2015/07/06/japan-agrees-with-korea-on-world-heritage-sites-admitting-forced-labor-an-omen-for-future/ | url-status=live }}

On 5 July 2015,{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=So-youn |date=September 21, 2023 |title=[Reportage] Tokyo exhibit further distorts history of forced labor on Hashima amid silence from Seoul |url=https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1109544 |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=The Hankyoreh |language=en |archive-date=24 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524001936/https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1109544 |url-status=live }} at the 39th UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) meeting, South Korea formally withdrew its opposition to Hashima Island being on the list. Japan's UNESCO representative Kuni Sato committed to acknowledging the issue as part of the history of the island, and stated that "there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites [including Hashima Island]".{{cite news | title=Japan forced labour sites receive world heritage status | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11721164/Japan-forced-labour-sites-receive-world-heritage-status.html | access-date=13 September 2015 | work=The Telegraph | date=6 July 2015 | archive-date=1 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901085506/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11721164/Japan-forced-labour-sites-receive-world-heritage-status.html | url-status=live }}{{cite news | title=Japan sites get world heritage status after forced labour acknowledgement | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/japan-sites-get-world-heritage-status-after-forced-labour-acknowledgement | access-date=13 September 2015 | work=The Guardian | date=6 July 2015 | archive-date=24 August 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824110546/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/japan-sites-get-world-heritage-status-after-forced-labour-acknowledgement | url-status=live }}{{cite news | title = Government downplays forced labor concession in winning UNESCO listing for industrial sites | url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/07/06/national/history/unesco-decides-to-add-meiji-industrial-sites-to-world-heritage-list/#.VfVPHRHtmkq | access-date=13 September 2015 | work=The Japan Times | date=6 July 2015}} Japan also claimed to be "prepared to incorporate appropriate measures into the interpretive strategy to remember the victims such as the establishment of information centre".{{cite news | title=The History that a large number of Koreans were forced to work against their will is reflected in the inscription of Japan's Meiji Industrial Sites on the World Heritage List | url=http://www.mofa.go.kr/webmodule/htsboard/template/read/engreadboard.jsp?typeID=12&boardid=302&seqno=315437&c=TITLE&t=&pagenum=9&tableName=TYPE_ENGLISH&pc=&dc=&wc=&lu=&vu=&iu=&du= | access-date=14 September 2015 | work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea | date=5 July 2015 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061052/http://www.mofa.go.kr/webmodule/htsboard/template/read/engreadboard.jsp?typeID=12&boardid=302&seqno=315437&c=TITLE&t=&pagenum=9&tableName=TYPE_ENGLISH&pc=&dc=&wc=&lu=&vu=&iu=&du= | url-status=live }}

The site was subsequently approved for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list on 5 July as part of the item Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.{{Cite web |title=Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=16 November 2019 |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1484/ |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630153956/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1484/ |url-status=live }}

Immediately after the UNESCO WHC meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida rejected the idea that Koreans were "forced labourers", and claimed that they were instead "requisitioned against their will" to work.{{cite web |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/pr_pd/mcc/page3_001285.html |script-title=ja:=「明治日本の産業革命遺産 製鉄・製鋼，造船，石炭産業」のユネスコ世界遺産一覧表への記載決定（第39回世界遺産委員会における7月5日日本代表団発言について） |date=14 July 2015 |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan) |language=ja, en |trans-title=Inscription of the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining" on the UNESCO's World Heritage List (Statement by the Japanese Delegation at the 39th Session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO) |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717131207/https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/pr_pd/mcc/page3_001285.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=7 July 2015 |title=Japan: "Forced to Work" Isn't "Forced Labor" |work=SNA Japan |url=http://shingetsunewsagency.com/tokyo/?p=1383 |url-status=dead |access-date=13 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150802205426/http://shingetsunewsagency.com/tokyo/?p=1383 |archive-date=2 August 2015}}{{cite news |date=7 July 2015 |title=S. Korea and Japan debate comments about being "forced to work" |work=The Hankyoreh |url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/699205.html |access-date=13 September 2015 |archive-date=3 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803224124/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/699205.html |url-status=live }} This remark was condemned by a South Korean government official as being nonsensical and evasive.

The Japanese politician {{Ill|Kōko Katō|ja|加藤康子}}, a close ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was to manage the preparation of the sites.{{Cite web |last=Johnsen |first=Nikolai |date=1 December 2021 |title=Katō Kōko's Meiji Industrial Revolution – Forgetting forced labor to celebrate Japan's World Heritage Sites – Part 1 |url=https://apjjf.org/2021/23/Johnsen.html |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825044404/https://apjjf.org/2021/23/Johnsen.html |url-status=live }} The Japanese government gave Katō's private company, the {{Nihongo|National Congress of Industrial Heritage|産業遺産国民会議}}, a budget of at least 1.35 billion yen. Even before the opening of the first museum covering Hashima, Katō used part of her budget to publish a series of articles and videos that denied that Koreans were ever forced to labour on the island.{{Cite web |last=Johnsen |first=Nikolai |date=15 December 2021 |title=Katō Kōko's Meiji Industrial Revolution – Forgetting forced labor to celebrate Japan's World Heritage Sites – Part 2 |url=https://apjjf.org/2021/24/Johnsen.html |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825195616/https://apjjf.org/2021/24/Johnsen.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=So-youn |date=15 August 2021 |title=[Column] Japan's right-wingers are going after Hashima Island's true history |url=https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/english_editorials/1007712.html |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=The Hankyoreh |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825054527/https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/english_editorials/1007712.html |url-status=live }} This includes videos that single out and attempt to discredit individual Korean survivors.{{Cite web |date=6 February 2020 |title=Video Message "Former Hashima Islanders Refute JTBC's News Report" |url=https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/Video-Message-%E2%80%9CFormer-Hashima-Islanders-Refute-JTBC%E2%80%99s-News-Report%E2%80%9D |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=THE TRUTH OF GUNKANJIMA |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825072119/https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/Video-Message-%E2%80%9CFormer-Hashima-Islanders-Refute-JTBC%E2%80%99s-News-Report%E2%80%9D |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=18 May 2019 |title=Video Message "Who is Yeon Cheol Koo?" |url=https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/Video-Message-%E2%80%9CWho-is-Yeon-Cheol-Koo-%E2%80%9D |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=THE TRUTH OF GUNKANJIMA |language=en}}

File:Industrial Heritage Information Center (Statistical Research and Training Institute).jpg

On 15 June 2020, the {{Nihongo|Industrial Heritage Information Centre|産業遺産情報センター|4=IHIC}} opened in Tokyo. Shortly afterwards, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially strongly protested the interpretations of Hashima Island presented at the IHIC, which it characterised as revisionist.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=15 June 2020 |title=National Affairs |url=https://www.korea.net/Government/Current-Affairs/National-Affairs?affairId=2045 |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Korea.net |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825052637/https://www.korea.net/Government/Current-Affairs/National-Affairs?affairId=2045 |url-status=live }} A number of domestic observers echoed these sentiments and called for Japan to correct the exhibit.{{Cite web |last=Hosaka |first=Yuji |date=25 June 2020 |title=Remembering Japan's Colonial Abuses Against Koreans on Hashima Island |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/remembering-japans-colonial-abuses-against-koreans-on-hashima-island/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825052004/https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/remembering-japans-colonial-abuses-against-koreans-on-hashima-island/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=植松 |first=青児 |date=5 November 2020 |title=「社会史・労働史」が欠落している産業遺産情報センター展示 |url=https://www.kinyobi.co.jp/kinyobinews/2020/11/05/news-82/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=週刊金曜日オンライン |language=ja |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825115345/https://www.kinyobi.co.jp/kinyobinews/2020/11/05/news-82/ |url-status=live }}

These complaints prompted UNESCO to send a committee to investigate. In June 2021, the committee published a report that found that Japan had failed to meet its end of the original agreement. The report stated that:{{Cite report |url=https://whc.unesco.org/document/188249 |title=REPORT ON THE UNESCO/ICOMOS MISSION TO THE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE INFORMATION CENTRE RELATED TO THE WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTY 'SITES OF JAPAN'S MEIJI INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: IRON AND STEEL, SHIP- BUILDING AND COAL MINING' (JAPAN) (C 1484) |date=2 July 2021 |access-date=24 August 2023 |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825042624/https://whc.unesco.org/document/188249 |url-status=live }}

{{Blockquote|text=The oral testimonies displayed [in the centre], which were all related to Hashima Island, convey the message that there were no instances of [Koreans and others] being forced to work there. The mission has therefore concluded that the interpretive measures to allow an understanding of those brought against their will and forced to work are currently insufficient.}}

The IHIC's displays were based mostly on Katō's primary sources, all of whom were based in Japan. Only one Korean had his testimony presented in the exhibit; he was a young child on the island and did not recall the labour conditions or experiencing discrimination. Some of the testimonies (all from Japanese residents) explicitly deny that Koreans were discriminated against. Most testimonies are reportedly from people who were children on the island or left the island at a young age, and had little actual contact with Korean labourers there.{{Cite web |last=Dionisio |first=Agnese |date=15 July 2023 |title=Memories of Bathtubs and Apples: Touring the Industrial Heritage Information Center, Tokyo |url=https://apjjf.org/2023/21/7/Agnese-Dionisio/5782.html |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus}}

Soon afterwards, the other 21 nations of the World Heritage Committee unanimously called for Japan to revise the exhibit. These calls were echoed by The Asahi Shimbun and a number of other observers.{{Cite web |date=27 July 2021 |title=EDITORIAL: Japan should redo Battleship Island exhibit to UNESCO's liking |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14403780 |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=The Asahi Shimbun |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825052631/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14403780 |url-status=live }} UNESCO asked Katō and the IHIC to submit a report with their future plans to revise the exhibit by 1 December 2022.{{Cite web |last1=Hikita |first1=Sawaaki |last2=Sugawara |first2=Amane |date=23 July 2021 |title=UNESCO calls for info on wartime Korean labor on Battleship Island |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14401656 |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=The Asahi Shimbun |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825052003/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14401656 |url-status=live }}

Katō published a response on 4 August, in which she rejected the possibility of acknowledging forced labour and claimed that "the people from the Korean Peninsula on Hashima Island [...] supported the system of increased production as a harmonious workforce like a family".{{Cite web |last=Kato |first=Koko |date=4 August 2021 |title=UNESCO Decision and UNESCO-ICOMOS Expert Report |url=https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/UNESCO-Decision-and-UNESCO-ICOMOS-Expert-Report |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=THE TRUTH OF GUNKANJIMA |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825054527/https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/UNESCO-Decision-and-UNESCO-ICOMOS-Expert-Report |url-status=live }} Meanwhile, she had been conducting interviews with and inviting far right historical revisionists to visit her museum, such as Toshio Motoya, who denies that the Nanjing Massacre occurred. She also appeared in an interview with Japan-based American influencer Kent Gilbert, who denies that Japan had sex slaves during World War II. In many of her interviews, she spent significant time discrediting Korean survivors.

Japan did not meet the deadline, and instead submitted a 577-page document defending the IHIC and saying its exhibits showed the complete history of the island. It also filed a request to have Sado Island, another island where forced labour took place, to be recognised as a UNESCO site.{{Cite web |last=Si-young |first=Choi |date=25 January 2023 |title=Japan's Unesco bid for a gold mine that forced Koreans into labour casts shadow over bilateral ties |url=https://asianews.network/japans-unesco-bid-for-a-gold-mine-that-forced-koreans-into-labour-casts-shadow-over-bilateral-ties/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Asia News Network |language=en-US |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825085809/https://asianews.network/japans-unesco-bid-for-a-gold-mine-that-forced-koreans-into-labour-casts-shadow-over-bilateral-ties/ |url-status=live }}

In 2023, a number of new exhibits were installed at the IHIC to quell the concerns of UNESCO and South Korea. The museum reportedly maintains that no systemic discrimination occurred towards Koreans, and its new exhibits align with this message. In one exhibit, a video is played of Kuni Sato's affirmation that forced labour occurred. A reporter for The Hankyoreh claimed that there are no Japanese subtitles for the English-language statement. Another exhibit acknowledges the occurrence of a mine cave-in, during which workers of varying ethnicities, including Korean, died. There are reportedly no testimonies from Koreans about forced labour or discrimination; one testimony from a Korean expresses denial of any discrimination occurring.

In September 2023, UNESCO reported that Japan had taken some measures to improve the situation, but asked for continual improvements and for a follow-up report due 1 December 2024. South Korea requested continuing dialogue on improvements. A reporter for The Hankyoreh argued that UNESCO's report leaned positive because South Korean representatives under the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is considered to be friendlier to Japan, did not adequately challenge the changes.

In February 2025, the WHC released a report that found that the IHIC had still not adequately addressed forced labour in its exhibits. According to South Korean officials, Korean victims testimonies were included in the museum, but they were left in the Korean language and put on a bookshelf, rather than being in a museum display.{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Seung-yeon |date=2025-02-01 |title=S. Korea voices regret after Japan's UNESCO report again fails to reflect forced labor |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20241205003700315?section=national/diplomacy |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=Yonhap News Agency}}

Around 2020, Katō learned of a 1955 documentary about the island called {{Nihongo|Island Without Green|緑なき島}}. It was produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK, and portrayed extremely poor conditions for workers. Katō questioned the documentary, and requested that NHK issue a statement that the documentary was misleading as it used footage filmed at other mines and in much later time periods.{{Cite web|url=https://japan-forward.com/editorial-nhk-must-stop-seouls-misleading-use-of-gunkanjima-footage/|title=EDITORIAL {{pipe}} NHK Must Stop Seoul's Misleading Use of Gunkanjima Footage {{pipe}} JAPAN Forward|first1=Editorial|last1=Board|first2=The Sankei|last2=Shimbun|date=2 July 2023|website=Japan Forward}} Opposition groups questioned the validity of the requested NHK clarifications, categorising them as revisionist.{{Cite web |date=1 June 2021 |title=We Have no Forgiveness for the Cover-Up Done by NHK on their Fabrication of the NHK Program Titled "the Greenless Island." |url=https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/We-Have-no-Forgiveness-for-the-Cover-Up-Done-by-NHK-on-their-Fabrication-of-the-NHK-Program-Titled-%E2%80%9Cthe-Greenless-Island-%E2%80%9D |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=THE TRUTH OF GUNKANJIMA |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825072117/https://www.gunkanjima-truth.com/l/en-US/article/We-Have-no-Forgiveness-for-the-Cover-Up-Done-by-NHK-on-their-Fabrication-of-the-NHK-Program-Titled-%E2%80%9Cthe-Greenless-Island-%E2%80%9D |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Kubota |first=Ruriko |date=4 June 2021 |title=Information Center in Tokyo Remains at Heart of Dispute over 'Hell Island' |url=https://japan-forward.com/information-center-in-tokyo-remains-at-heart-of-dispute-over-hell-island/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Japan Forward |language=en-US |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825054530/https://japan-forward.com/information-center-in-tokyo-remains-at-heart-of-dispute-over-hell-island/ |url-status=live }}

{{in popular culture|date=June 2020}}

In 2002, Swedish filmmaker Thomas Nordanstad visited the island with Dotokou, a Japanese man who grew up on Hashima. Nordanstad documented the trip in a film called Hashima, Japan, 2002.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/15/3648540/skyfall-bond-villain-hashima-abandoned-island|title=Watch this: the chilling history behind the abandoned island in 'Skyfall'|website=Theverge.com|date=15 November 2012|access-date=1 January 2018|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904012930/https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/15/3648540/skyfall-bond-villain-hashima-abandoned-island|url-status=live}}

During the 2009 Mexican photography festival FotoSeptiembre, Mexican photographers Guillaume Corpart Muller and Jan Smith, along with Venezuelan photographer Ragnar Chacin, showcased images from the island in the exhibition "Pop. Density 5,000/km²". The exhibition traced urban density and the rise and fall of cities around the world.{{cite web | publisher = Conaculta | title = Centro de la imagem | url = http://centrodelaimagen.conaculta.gob.mx/fotoseptiembre/guia_FS09.pdf | location = MX | year = 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090823170043/http://centrodelaimagen.conaculta.gob.mx/fotoseptiembre/guia_FS09.pdf | archive-date = 23 August 2009 }}

In 2009, the island was featured in History Channel's Life After People, first-season episode "The Bodies Left Behind" as an example of the decay of concrete buildings after only 35 years of abandonment.{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/content/life_after_people/episode-guide/the-bodies-left-behind |publisher=The History Channel |title=Episode One: The Bodies Left Behind |series=Life After People |format=Episode guide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420215521/http://www.history.com/content/life_after_people/episode-guide/the-bodies-left-behind |archive-date=20 April 2009 }} The island was again featured in 2011 in episode six of a 3D production for 3net, Forgotten Planet, discussing the island's current state, history and unauthorised photo shoots by urban explorers.{{cite web | first = Michael | last = Gakuran | title = Gunkanjima: Ruins of a Forbidden Island | url = http://gakuran.com/gunkanjima-ruins-of-a-forbidden-island/ | access-date = 13 November 2012 | archive-date = 27 November 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121127190240/http://gakuran.com/gunkanjima-ruins-of-a-forbidden-island/ | url-status = live }} The Japanese Cultural Institute in Mexico used the images of Corpart Muller and Smith in the photography exhibition "Fantasmas de Gunkanjima", organised by Daniela Rubio, as part of the celebrations surrounding 200 years of diplomacy between Mexico and Japan.{{citation|url=http://www.mx.emb-japan.go.jp/400/calenda4.html |title=400 Aniversario México-Japón |publisher=Mexican embassy |place=JP |date=2 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210223211/http://www.mx.emb-japan.go.jp/400/calenda4.html |archive-date=10 February 2010 }}

In July 2009, Japanese rock duo B'z shot the music video for their single "My Lonely Town" on the island. This was the first time a large-scale music video had been shot there. Special permission was given from Nagasaki to utilise the entire island for filming, including aerial shots of the island and the band being able to go in areas most visitors wouldn't normally be able to go in.{{Cite web |date=2009-09-01 |title=B'z、ニューシングル「MY LONELY TOWN」は軍艦島で撮影 |url=https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000052580 |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=BARKS |language=ja}}{{Cite web |date=2009-09-01 |title=B'z、早くも次のシングル“MY LONELY TOWN”を10月14日にリリース!　PVは35年ぶりに上陸が解禁された長崎の軍艦島で撮影! |url=https://tower.jp/article/news/2009/09/01/100019787 |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=Tower Records Online |language=ja}}

The island has appeared in a number of feature films. External shots of the island were used in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. The 2015 live-action Japanese films based on the manga Attack on Titan used the island for filming multiple scenes,{{cite web|last1=Loveridge|first1=Lynzee|title=Get a Closer Look at the Attack on Titan Live-Action Films' Setting|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-11-06/get-a-closer-look-at-the-attack-on-titan-live-action-films-setting/.80756|website=Anime News Network|access-date=1 January 2018|language=en|date=6 November 2014}} and 2013 Thai horror film Hashima Project was filmed there.{{cite web|url=https://world.kapook.com/pin/5260f1d338217abe41000000|work=Kapook.com|date=18 October 2013|access-date=4 June 2017|language=th|title=เบื้องหลัง ฮาชิมะ โปรเจกต์ ถ่ายทำจากสถานที่จริง สุดสยอง|author=endingday|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904013446/https://world.kapook.com/pin/5260f1d338217abe41000000|url-status=dead}}

The island is depicted in the comic series Atomic Robo, where it features prominently as a central location in the storylines of Volume 6: The Ghost of Station X, Volume 10: The Ring of Fire, and Volume 12: The Spectre of Tomorrow.{{cite web |url=https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v6ch5-page-1 |title=Atomic Robo Vol. 6 Chapter 5, Page 1 |publisher=Tesladyne, LLC |access-date=2 April 2023 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321144552/https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v6ch5-page-1 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v10ch4-page-20a |title=Atomic Robo Vol. 10 Chapter 4, Page 20A |publisher=Tesladyne, LLC |access-date=2 April 2023 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320150202/https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v10ch4-page-20a |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v12ch3-page-16 |title=Atomic Robo Vol. 12 Chapter 3, Page 16 |publisher=Tesladyne, LLC |access-date=2 April 2023 |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323051829/https://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v12ch3-page-16 |url-status=live }}

The 2017 South Korean World War II film The Battleship Island ({{Korean|hangul=군함도|hanja=軍艦島|rr=Gunhamdo}}), depicts a fictitious attempt by Korean forced labourers to escape the labour camp on the island.{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/07/28/2017072801429.html|title=Are 'Battleship Island' Opening Records a Pyrrhic Victory?|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|date=28 July 2017|access-date=30 July 2017|archive-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731010742/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/07/28/2017072801429.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/characters-anchor-this-thrilling-tale-of-escape|title=Strong characters anchor Battleship Island's thrilling tale of escape|last=hermes|date=16 August 2017|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=3 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072524/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/characters-anchor-this-thrilling-tale-of-escape|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-battleship-island-review/5120404.article|title='The Battleship Island': Review|first=Jason|last=Bechervaise|date=2017-07-28|website=Screen|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=3 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072906/https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-battleship-island-review/5120404.article|url-status=live}}

The island appeared in a CNN article entitled "10 of the freakiest places around the world".{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/freakiest-places-world/index.html|title=10 of the freakiest places around the world|website=CNN|date=8 May 2019|access-date=7 December 2021|archive-date=3 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103174007/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/freakiest-places-world/index.html|url-status=live}}

In Nintendo's third-person shooter series Splatoon, Hashima Island is presented partly as a stage you can battle on. However, it holds a different name than its actual name; that name is "Bluefin Depot".{{Cite web |date=2024-02-18 |title=Bluefin Depot |url=http://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/Bluefin_Depot |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=Inkipedia |language=en |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219162202/https://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/Bluefin_Depot |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=KawaiiChao |date=2015-09-19 |title=I think Bluefin Depot is more than just abandoned, I made a stupid little observation here. |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/splatoon/comments/3lluir/i_think_bluefin_depot_is_more_than_just_abandoned/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=r/splatoon}}{{Cite web |date=2024-02-16 |title=File:S3 Bluefin Depot Recon 6.png |url=http://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/File:S3_Bluefin_Depot_Recon_6.png |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=Inkipedia |language=en |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219162807/https://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/File:S3_Bluefin_Depot_Recon_6.png |url-status=live }}

{{Portal|Islands}}

• Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea
• Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan
• Desert island
• Fort Drum (Philippines)
• Lists of islands

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Hashima (Nagasaki)}}

• [https://www.gunkanjima-museum.jp/ Gunkanjima Digital Museum official site]
• [https://en.gunkanjima-excursion.com/ Around a World Heritage Site: The hashima island Guide (Complete Edition)]
• {{YouTube|okRUrxvngCc|Documentary of former resident revisiting the island}}
• [http://media.virbcdn.com/files/d0/FileItem-11167-StudiesoftheModernBuildingsonGunkanjima.pdf Studies of the Modern Buildings on Gunkajima 1916–1974 (1986)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916182933/http://media.virbcdn.com/files/d0/FileItem-11167-StudiesoftheModernBuildingsonGunkanjima.pdf |date=16 September 2016 }}

{{Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining}}

{{Korea under Japanese rule}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|32|37|40|N|129|44|18|E|region:JP_type:isle|display=title}}

Category:Coal mines in Japan

Category:Contemporary archaeology

Category:Geography of the Empire of Japan

Category:Ghost towns in Japan

Category:Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture

Category:Japanese war crimes in Korea

Category:Mitsubishi

Category:Modern ruins

Category:Postwar Japan

Category:Uninhabited islands of Japan

Category:World Heritage Sites in Japan

Category:China–Japan–South Korea relations

Category:Japan–South Korea relations

Category:Forced labour during World War II

Category:Forced labor in Japan

Category:Military history of Nagasaki Prefecture

Category:Historical negationism in Japan