About 300 miners descended Wednesday into the nation's last coal mine, run by Taiheiyo Coal Mine Co. in Kushiro, Hokkaido, for their last day of mining before its closure at the end of January.
The miners came up from the depths of the mine, roughly 740 meters below sea level, at around 4 p.m. The completion of the day's shift marked the end of commercial coal production in Japan, which helped fuel the nation's recovery after World War II.
Kushiro Mayor Kensuke Watanuki and Takashi Chiba, chairman of the firm's labor union, were on hand to greet the miners as they came up from the shafts and thanked them for their long years of service.
All 1,000 workers will be dismissed when the mine is closed Jan. 30.