May 21 & 22, 2026

At a joint press conference held by the Japanese and South Korean leaders in Andong, South Korea, on May 19, it was announced that DNA testing on the remains of Korean victims, who died in a wartime coal mine accident in Japan, will begin shortly with the cooperation of both governments.

The Japanese Communist Party has frequently raised the issue of recovering the remains in the Diet, demanding that the Japanese government cooperate with South Korea on DNA testing to identify the remains.

On May 18, the day that Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported that an agreement on bilateral cooperation was reached, JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira held a press conference and stated, “This is a very important step.”

He stated, “Our party will do its utmost to return the remains, which have lain at the bottom of the sea for so long, to their families as soon as possible.” He added, “The two governments should not stop DNA testing but work together to collect further remains.”

In February 1942, 183 workers, including 136 who had been forcibly mobilized from the Korean Peninsula as forced laborers, died in a flooding accident that occurred at the Chosei undersea coal mine (Ube City, Yamaguchi Pref.). Their remains are still trapped in the mine’s underwater tunnels to this day.

* * *

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira and JCP Policy Commission Chair Yamazoe Taku, both members of the House of Councillors, on May 21 had the opportunity to speak with South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk at a gathering held in Tokyo. They agreed that conducting DNA testing jointly by Japan and South Korea will be an important step forward.

Past related article:
> Japanese and ROK heads agree to cooperate in DNA testing on remains of 1942 undersea coal-mine accident victims [January 14, 2026]