On the small island of Ikeshima in Nagasaki Prefecture, coal mining facilities dot the landscape, testimony to the area's heavy reliance on the Ikeshima Mine and a reminder of the devastating effect its closure will have on the local population.
The biggest problem confronting the island is finding employment for the 600 workers who will hit the unemployment line when the mine closes at the end of November after being in operation since 1959.
Matsushima Coal Mining Co. on Oct. 12 sent a formal notice of closure to the Sotome town office.
A day earlier, a commerce and industrial official said, "A hollowing out of the manufacturing industry is steadily on the way, as all factories are being relocated to other countries.