Hashima Island (端島 or Hashima — -shima is a Japanese suffix for island?), commonly called Gunkanjima (軍艦島; meaning Battleship Island), is an abandoned island lying about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city of Nagasaki, in southern Japan. It is one of 505 uninhabited islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. The island's most notable features are the abandoned and undisturbed concrete apartment buildings and the surrounding sea wall.
The island was known for its undersea coal mines, established in 1887, which operated during the industrialization of Japan. In 1959, the 6.3-hectare (16-acre) island's population reached its peak of 5,259. The mine was closed in 1974, and all the residents left the island soon after. Due to lack of maintenance several buildings have collapsed since, and other buildings are subject to breakage. However, certain collapsed exterior walls have been restored.
The interest for the island re-emerged in 2000s among enthusiasts for ruins, and they gradually became a tourist attraction of a sort. Travel to Hashima was re-opened for tourist on April 22, 2009. Increased interest for the island resulted in an initiative for its protection as a site of industrial heritage. In 2008, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs added "The Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi" complex to the tentative list, and there is an initiative for it to be included into the UNESCO World Heritage. Among other shows, Hashima featured in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall and in a 2009 episode of History Channel's Life After People.