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35-682: The Miike Coal Mine in northern Kyushu had long been one of Japan's largest and most productive coal mines, dating back to its earliest exploitation by the Tachibana samurai clan in the early 1700s during the Edo Period . The mine was nationalized by the Meiji government in 1873, and was privatized and sold to the Mitsui zaibatsu in 1889. Like all other industrialized nations, Japan and its wartime empire had been largely powered by coal. This made

70-417: A coal-dust explosion in the mine was impossible and were not educated on the potential for gas poisoning. The company had no provisions in place for isolating poisonous gas, in fact, at the time of the explosion, ventilation fans worked to actively spread the gas throughout the mine, leading to more deaths. Only around 200 of the workers knew of the explosion, mostly by hearing it firsthand. Despite making it to

105-494: A reduction in demand for large numbers of manual laborers, including coal miners. In addition, the Income Doubling Plan , first formulated in 1959 and formally introduced in 1960, explicitly called for shifting government support away from "sunset" industries like coal mining in favor of "growth" industries such as oil refining and petrochemical manufacturing. Noticing these shifts and anticipating future threats to

140-493: A whole. On November 9, 1963, 458 people were killed by an explosion and the resulting buildup of carbon monoxide . 438 of the deaths were due to carbon monoxide poisoning , and 839 others suffered from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause brain damage. In total, 1,197 of the 1,403 workers died or were injured as a result of the incident. Workers were told by the Mitsui Coal Mining company that

175-399: The Meiji government nationalised the mine. The Mitsui zaibatsu took control in 1899. Almost immediately, prison labor began to be employed both inside and outside the mine. In 1876, the Mitsui & Co., Ltd. was established to exclusively handle the transportation and sales of coal from the mine. In 188, when the mine was privatized, Mitsui won a fierce bidding competition against

210-835: The Mitsubishi zaibatsu for ownership. Dan Takuma , an official of the Mines Bureau of the Ministry of Industry who had studied mining and metallurgy in the United States, was assigned to oversee the Miike Coal Mine, and eventually rose to become Director-General of Mitsui. The mine operations were greatly expanded and gradually modernized. The use of convict labor was abolished in 1930, long after it had ceased to be used in other mines in Japan. During World War II

245-680: The National Diet and rammed through an unpopular revision to the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty (called "Anpo" in Japanese) with only members of his own party present. Kishi's actions led to outrage around the nation and a massive upsurge in the Anpo protests against the Treaty. Sympathy was extended to the striking miners, whom Kishi had opposed, and the Japanese labor movement became enamored of

280-481: The CLRC would have to grant them some concessions. However, when the CLRC issued its decision on August 10, it sided almost entirely with Mitsui, granting the miners the rather meaningless gesture of having the company formally "rescind" the layoffs while still insisting that those same miners "voluntarily retire." The first union was outraged and immediately announced a resumption of their strike, but after weeks of debate

315-813: The Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Patients Family Association staged a sit-in at the bottom of the Mikawa mine from the 14th to the 20th of the same month to protest failure of the company to provide compensation. On January 18, 1984, an explosion at the mine claimed the lives of 83 workers. The mine closed on March 30, 1997. with devastating effects on the local economy. In the 1960s and 1970s, Japan's primary energy source switched from coal to oil, and demand for coal shifted from high-cost domestic coal to low-cost imported coal. Due to currency exchange rates, compensation claims for mining accidents, rising labor costs, etc., it

350-520: The Miike Struggle allowed the company to replace the militant first union with the much more cooperative second union. This in turn allowed Mitsui to lay off more miners and significantly relax safety standards in the mine. By 1963, the number of miners working at Miike had fallen by one third, from around 15,000 in 1960 to just 10,000, yet in the same period, coal production was accelerated from 8,000 tons to 15,000 tons per day. On November 9, 1963,

385-532: The Miike mine immensely profitable and one of the crown jewels of the Mitsui conglomerate's holdings. However, in the immediate postwar years, the discovery and exploitation of cheap and plentiful Middle Eastern oil led to an "energy revolution" as industries increasingly shifted to oil, reducing demand for coal. At the same time, the 1950s in Japan saw a great wave of mechanization and "workplace rationalization" that saw

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420-471: The Miike miners union not just from other Sōhyō-affiliated unions, but even from unions in more moderate labor federations, such as Zenrō , and from labor unions and federations in the United States and Europe. Likewise, the Japanese business world ( Zaikai ) made virtually unlimited financial resources available to Mitsui for the purpose of breaking the strike, including contributions from corporations and industries entirely unrelated to coal mining. Accordingly,

455-472: The Sōhyō labor federation announced that it was withdrawing its support for the strike. Completely isolated, the first union held on for a little longer but was ultimately forced to capitulate. On December 1, 1960, the first union-miners returned to work, ending an unprecedented 312-day lockout. The Miike Struggle is widely regarded as the high point of postwar labor militancy in Japan, when the Japanese labor movement

490-526: The UNESCO World Industrial Heritage series " Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining ." The award was dependent upon Japan's promise to tell the "full history" of these sites that included a history of its forced labor for Koreans, Chinese, convicts, and POWs. On July 22, 2021, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee found that Japan had not fulfilled its pledge and they were asked to come up with

525-458: The company's boat while attacking it with water cannons, hurled rocks, and ramming, in the so-called "Battle of the Ariake Sea." By May, with desertions to the second union increasing, the first union's cause was looking increasingly hopeless and support from the other unions began to waver. However on May 19, Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi had police drag opposition lawmakers out of

560-470: The conflict rapidly assumed the feeling of an apocalyptic “all-management vs. all-labor” battle ( sōshihon tai sōrōdō no tatakai ) from which neither side felt it could back down. Much of these funds were used to hire thousands of right-wing and yakuza thugs to beat up or otherwise intimidate and harass the locked-out miners. Bloody battles for control of the mine became an almost daily occurrence, especially after Mitsui finally succeeded in persuading some of

595-565: The idea of possibly "linking up Anpo and Miike," leading to a new surge in support for the striking miners. Once the new treaty took effect on June 19, the Anpo protests came to an end, freeing up thousands of left-wing activists who had previously been busy protesting the treaty. Many of these activists then travelled down to Kyushu to support the miners at Miike. However, the end of the Anpo protests also freed up thousands of right-wing counter-protesters as well, who also traveled to Miike to fight for

630-422: The lift, they were told by their officers not to leave and died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The majority of the workers knew nothing of the explosion. Electricity and telephone communication were lost after the explosion, and initially, no attempts to rescue the workers were made by the company, which stated that it was too risky due to unclear conditions within the mine. As a result, workers remained trapped in

665-520: The mine for three hours after the company was notified. The inexperienced, ill-advised rescue crews exacerbated the severity of the event by not following the protocols for rescuing victims of carbon monoxide poisoning. Over 200 of the workers who were already suffering from poisoning were sent back into the mines to attempt to rescue others. Of the 939 workers that survived, 839 suffered from serious carbon monoxide poisoning, which resulted in severe, permanent brain damage. In July 1967, 66 housewives from

700-567: The mine was used as a prisoner of war camp , referred to as Fukuoka#17 - Omuta . Approximately 1,735 American and Allied prisoners were used as slave labor to mine coal and work in a Mitsui zinc foundry. It was the largest POW camp in the Japanese Empire. 138 prisoners died, of disease, accidents, and abuse. In 1958 Nippon Steel Mining began development of the Ariake Coal Mine in neighboring Takada Town; however, development

735-404: The mine, the powerful miners union responded with massive protests and work stoppages that led to Mitsui locking out the miners for 312 days. The resultant clashes between miners, police, and right-wing gangsters escalated into violence. Ultimately, the protesting miners were defeated, and returned to work without achieving their demands, dealing a significant blow to the Japanese labor movement as

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770-409: The miners to form a more pliable "second union" and resume production at the mine. Although Miike was a very large mine, and the Miike union was an important union within the Sōhyō federation, the Miike Struggle quickly escalated far out of proportion to the actual number of jobs at stake, as both sides decided that Miike would be the time and place to make a decisive stand. Donations began pouring into

805-401: The miners to form a second union on March 17. On March 29, one of the first-union miners, Kiyoshi Kubo, was stabbed to death by a yakuza gangster. Because the striking first-union miners were blocking access to the mine by land, Mitsui attempted to land second-union miners and mining supplies by boat from the sea. The first union responded by chartering a boat of its own and constantly shadowing

840-416: The opportunity to break the powerful and militant Miike union once and for all. The Union was associated with the powerful, left-leaning Sōhyō labor federation, and had long been a thorn in Miike's side, launching several workplace actions including undertaking a major strike in 1953. On January 25, 1960, Mitsui locked the miners out of the mine, and immediately launched a concerted effort to split off some of

875-448: The other side, leading to a dramatic upsurge in violent clashes in late June and July. Big business was growing tired of funding the endless conflict, and pressure mounted on Kishi to bring the strike to an end, so he dispatched 10,000 riot police to quell the violence, and a decisive battle ( kessen ) between the police and the miners seemed imminent. However, Kishi was forced to resign on July 15 to take responsibility for his mishandling of

910-568: The profitability of its coal mines, the Mitsui Corporation in 1959 announced that it would be laying off thousands of workers at its mines, including 1,462 layoffs at the Miike mine. With mechanization of mine functions proceeding at a rapid pace, this was seen to be the first in what might be many future rounds of layoffs. The Miike miners union was incredibly strong, and responded with massive protests and work stoppages by more than 30,000 miners and their families. Mitsui decided to take

945-531: The treaty issue, leading to a pause in strikebreaking operations at Miike. New Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda , a former member of the Ministry of Finance and a close ally of the business world, made finding a peaceful resolution to the strike his first priority upon taking office. To accomplish this, he took the very unusual step of appointing a member of a rival faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party , Hirohide Ishida , as Labor Minister, because Ishida

980-500: The worst mining disaster in Japan's postwar era occurred at Miike when coal dust ignited and exploded 500 feet below the surface, collapsing tunnels and spreading deadly carbon monoxide throughout the mine. As a result, 458 miners were killed and 555 were injured. Miike Coal Mine Miike coal mine ( 三池炭鉱 , Miike Tankō ) , also known as the Mitsui Miike Coal Mine ( 三井三池炭鉱 , Mitsui Miike Tankō ) ,

1015-412: Was at the height of its power. After the labor movement was defeated at Miike, it gradually retreated from militancy, leading to a more cooperative culture with more open lines of communication between management and labor in Japan. Sōhyō in particular was weakened by the Miike Struggle, and thereafter increasingly lost ground to more moderate labor federations such as Zenrō. Mitsui's near-total victory in

1050-539: Was discovered in this area by a farmer in 1469; however, commercial scale exploitation did not begin until 1721, when the karō of Miike Domain received permission to open a mine. In pre-industrial Japan, the main market for coal was for use in salt production in the Seto Inland Sea ; however, in the Bakumatsu period , the importance of coal as a fuel for steam engines became increasing evident, and in 1872

1085-711: Was no longer possible to compete without government subsidies, which were scheduled to be discontinued from 2001. Mitsui there decided to terminate operations. After the mine closed, the Miyahara Pit ruins and the Manda Pit were designated as National Important Cultural Properties in 1998 and as National Historic Sites in 2000. The chimney of the Miyaura Pit Ruins and the former Mikawa Electric Railway substation were registered as National Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2000. The Miike mine

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1120-539: Was seen as more sympathetic to labor unions, and dispatched Ishida to negotiate a solution. With both the business world and the labor movement having become exhausted by the lengthy battle, Ishida was successful in getting both sides to submit to binding arbitration by the Central Labour Relations Commission (CLRC). The miners calculated that they had showed their determination, and that they could always go on strike again, and thus that

1155-543: Was suspended due to ingress of spring water. The mine was acquired by Mitsu in 1972, and coal production was resumed in 1976, with a shaft connecting the Ariake Mine with the Miike Mine completed in 1977. In 1960, the mine became the center of a protracted labor dispute that evolved into the largest management-labor dispute in Japan's history. When the Mitsui corporation attempted to lay off nearly 1,500 workers at

1190-502: Was the largest coal mine in Japan, located in the area of the city of Ōmuta , Fukuoka and Arao , Kumamoto , Japan . In 1960, it was the setting for the " Miike Struggle ," which was the largest management-labor dispute in Japanese history. In 2015, it was registered as one of the assets of the UNESCO Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining World Heritage Site . Coal

1225-521: Was the subject of a Japanese documentary, Echoes from the Miike Mine (2006), directed by Hiroko Kumagai. In 2015, the Miike Coal Mine, Miike Coal Mine Railway (some sections of which are currently used as the Mitsui Chemicals Railway) and Miike Port (opened in 1908, lock facilities, Daikongo Maru, a steam-powered crane ship that was used during port construction, former Nagasaki Customs Miike Branch Office), were designated as part of

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