The island was owned by Mitsubishi, and the town grew and flourished on the success of its coal mining, just like Takashima. With a staggering population density of 83,500 people/km2, it looked more like the infamous Kowloon Walled City than anything else in its heyday. However, in the late 1960s, petroleum began to replace coal as the predominant energy export in Japan, and in 1974 Mitsubishi closed its Hashima mine. With no coal mining, Hashima was dead in the water. One by one, its inhabitants moved off of the island, leaving empty buildings behind.
The island was owned by Mitsubishi, and the town grew and flourished on the success of its coal mining, just like Takashima. With a staggering population density of 83,500 people/km2, it looked more like the infamous Kowloon Walled City than anything else in its heyday. However, in the late 1960s, petroleum began to replace coal as the predominant energy export in Japan, and in 1974 Mitsubishi closed its Hashima mine. With no coal mining, Hashima was dead in the water. One by one, its inhabitants moved off of the island, leaving empty buildings behind.