Taiheiyo Coal Mine Co., the operator of Japan's last remaining coal mine, on Friday informed its 1,000-member labor union of plans to close the mine in Kushiro, Hokkaido, on Jan. 30, the company said.
The union is expected to accept the management's proposal and enter talks with the company on the terms of the closure, such as severance pay, sources close to the union said.
With the closure, Japan will lose the last of its coal mines, an industry that played a key role in helping rebuild the nation's economy in the aftermath of World War II.
The closure entails the dismissal of the 1,000 workers and liquidation of the company.
The local business community and its supporters, however, are preparing to set up a new company to transfer mining technology to trainees from other countries, local officials said.
The new company will employ 500 of the dismissed workers, they said.
Mining output has been declining at Taiheiyo Coal Mine since last year.
The firm posted a 4.14 billion yen pretax loss in fiscal 1999, which ended March 31 last year.