UBE, Yamaguchi Prefecture—Divers have found human remains in a long-abandoned flooded coal mine here, where a ceiling collapse killed 183 miners during World War II.

Bereaved families of the victims and a citizens group are calling on Japan to help investigate and recover the remains, but the government has maintained a negative stance, saying that providing such support is “difficult.”

About 70 percent of the 183 miners who died in the disaster at the Chosei mine are believed to have been laborers from the Korean Peninsula.

The divers, including a South Korean, are working on behalf of the citizens group named Chosei Tanko no Mizuhijo wo Rekishi ni Kizamu Kai (Association to record the Chosei coal mine flooding).

In an underwater survey, they found what appeared to be three human thigh bones on Aug. 25.

On Aug. 26, they recovered a human skull and reported seeing remains resembling a body lying down inside the mine.

Yamaguchi prefectural police were asked to conduct an analysis on the remains.

“We have confirmed that the items are human bones through morphological examination,” the Ube Police Station announced on Aug. 27.

The station said the bones were identified as a left femur, a left humerus, a left radius and a skull.

FLOODED MINE SEALED

The mining accident occurred on Feb. 3, 1942, when the ceiling collapsed and seawater flooded into the mine’s tunnels.

The mining company at the time sealed the mine shortly after the accident, and the site and the disaster were largely forgotten as World War II intensified.

The Chosei mine citizens group was set up in 1991, and members dug out the buried mine entrance in September last year.

The following month, they started a series of underwater investigations through the dug-out mine entrance and a vent tower protruding above the sea.

The group has covered the costs through crowdfunding campaigns.

At the same time, the group has been urging the Japanese government to help recover the remains and provide financial support for the project.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s Social Welfare and War Victims’ Relief Bureau is responsible for recovering and conducting DNA testing on the remains of the war dead.

However, Japan’s law concerning the collection of war dead remains covers only those killed in combat or related actions. Victims of underwater accidents are excluded from the law.

Based on a 2005 Japan-South Korea agreement, the humanitarian survey office of Japan’s Employment Security Bureau is in charge of issues related to the remains of Korean laborers who died during and after the war in Japan.

But still, the government has refused to investigate the Chosei coal mine. It has cited such reasons as the unclear locations of the remains as well as safety concerns for an underwater investigation.

BEREAVED FAMILIES’ WISH

The recovery of the remains is heightening calls for the Japanese government to get involved.

“I want to bury my father’s remains in a grave,” an 83-year-old man from Aichi Prefecture, whose father died in the accident, said on Aug. 27. “I want the government to cooperate with the effort to get as many remains as possible back to their families.”

Yoko Inoue, co-representative of the citizens group, also called for a government effort, saying: “Now that human remains have been found, the Japanese government has a responsibility to return them to their homeland. I believe these remains have the power to change the government’s attitude.”

Despite the confirmation of the remains and their location, a ministry official continued to express reluctance.

“Safety concerns have not been resolved,” the official said. “So, it is difficult to proceed.”

Takamaro Fukuoka, the welfare minister, was also cool toward government involvement.

“At this stage, we have not gained new insights that would ensure safe diving investigations,” he said at a news conference on Aug. 26. “We are currently not considering financial support.”

TIMELINE

* February 1942: Tunnels about 1 kilometer offshore collapse and flood, resulting in the deaths of 183 miners. The mine is sealed shortly afterward.

* 1991: Citizens group Chosei Tanko no Mizuhijo wo Rekishi ni Kizamu Kai (Association to record the Chosei coal mine flooding) is established.

* September 2024: The group excavates the mine entrance.

* October 2024: The group begins underwater investigations.

* April 2025: Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says in the Diet, “We will consider what support the government should provide.” After the session, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare begins expert hearings.

* August 2025: A human skull and bones are discovered in mine tunnels during a diving investigation organized by the citizens group.

(This article was written by Go Kitaueda and Ayami Ko.)