January 14, 2026

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae Myong at their meeting on January 13 confirmed the two governments’ cooperation in DNA testing on the remains of Japanese and Korean victims who died in a wartime flooding disaster at Chosei Coal Mine (Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture).

The fatal accident occurred at the undersea coal mine in 1942, killing 183 workers. Of them, 136 were Koreans taken to Japan from the Korean Peninsula as forced laborers. None of the victims’ remains have been recovered.

Efforts to collect the remains have been undertaken jointly by concerned citizens in Japan and South Korea while the Japanese government is firm refusing to get involved in the recovery of the remains.

A diving survey, which a Japanese civic group working to commemorate the Chosei Mine tragedy conducted in August 2025, found remains believed to belong to the victims for the first time since the 1942 accident, and some of the remains were recovered. On December 24, 2025, opposition Dietmembers, including Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira (House of Councillors), submitted to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kunimitsu Ayano a written request demanding that the government, on the occasion of the scheduled Japan-South Korea summit meeting, work to reach an agreement on DNA testing and other efforts regarding the recovery of the remains.

As the Japanese and South Korean leaders at their latest meeting mentioned cooperation between the two countries, the Japanese government should take action to collect the remains.

Past related articles:
> Opposition parties urge gov’t to allocate budget for recovery of remains of 1942 undersea mine accident victims [September 5, 2025]
> JCP Koike calls for gov’t support for efforts to collect remains of victims of wartime undersea coal mine disaster [May 21, 2025]