The Economic Times

In 1959, 5,000 people lived on Japanese 'battleship island'. Then it was abandoned almost overnight. The UNESCO site that inspired James Bond's Skyfalls villain lair

Japans Hashima Island, or Gunkanjima, was once a bustling coal-mining community with more than 5,000 residents and one of the worlds highest population densities. When its mines closed in 1974, the island was abandoned almost overnight, leaving behind haunting concrete ruins. In 2015, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Hashima attracts tourists on guided tours and gained global fame after inspiring the villains lair in James Bonds Skyfall.