Kushiro Coal Mine

The Kushiro Coal Mine is one of the largest coal mines in Japan, and the last remaining underground coal mine in the country. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of the eastern part of Hokkaido. Kushiro Coal Mine Co., Ltd (KCM) operates the mine since 2002, when it took over the operations of the Taiheiyo Coal Mine. Output has been decreasing, from 5 million tons/year, dropping to 700,000 tons when KCM took over the mine. As output of the mine decreased, trains carrying coal from the mine were eliminated in 2019. Some output (300, 000 ton) is being used at the Kushiro Thermal Power Station, but is being heavily subsidized by the government. 800 million yen, which is about two-thirds of the total project cost of 1.3 billion yen is being covered by the government, in an effort to promote coal-producing area through the Hokkaido Coal-Producing Area Promotion Centre. Local residents are of mixed opinion about the mine, questioning its reduced output and need for the coal. The mine has seen a renaissance since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, as the government remained unsure about the future of nuclear power in the country. Building the thermal power plant designed to use coal from the mine is expected to keep the mine in operation for a few decades, but not at full capacity. Managers at the mine concede "that its continued existence is largely an anachronism, not

Mine data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).