LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL SEPTEMBER 21, 1964 To Members of the Subcommittee on Domestic Finance: Transmitted herewith for the use of the Subcommittee on. The abandoned buildings of Yubari pictured by BRETT PATMANWelcome to the city of Yubari, a once- thriving jewel in the crown of Japan's coal mining industry struck by mining disasters which killed 1. Yuburi, which was founded in 1. Japan, Hokkaido, was built to exploit vast coal reserves in the region and once had a thriving population of 1. Now, after a series of mining disasters, changes to the mining industry and an ageing population, the number of residents in the city has slumped to just 9,0. John Guillermin (11 November 1925 – 27 September 2015) was a British film director, writer, and producer who was most active in big budget, action adventure films. The Robinson-Patman Act (the “RPA”) prohibits certain forms of price discrimination in sales transactions. Although international banking is probably the Rockefellers' most important business, Standard Oil remains the keystone in the arch of the Rockefeller Empire. THE FEDERAL RESERVE' Secrets of the Federal Reserve and the London Connection by Eustace Mullins. Stunning images of the seemingly deserted city captured by Australian photographer Brett Patman reveal the run- down and neglected buildings that have been left to decay. Yubari, in Hokkaido in Japan, which was once home to 1. A side street through a residential area of Yubari. Some of the buildings further down the street are on the verge of collapse. Some were lost completely years ago, leaving a bare concrete slab as a memory of what used to stand there. This empty playground with fading, peeling paint takes on an eerie, creepy look under grey clouds, surrounded by bare trees and dead grass. There are few children to use the playground now, as the city has an ageing population - even more so than the nationwide ageing trend.
Yubari, founded in 1. The managers housings of the former Yubari Shin coal mine. These residences are still occupied by some of the residents of Shimizusawa today Sections of this slide have broken away and fallen from the structure. It may have once been part of a theme park created in the hopes of attracting tourists to the declining city. A sign stands on a patch of ground where grass attempts to grow. In the background, a pile of rubbish and debris sits. Public services, like rubbish collection, were cut in the city in a bid to reduce costs A example of a common sight in Yubari where a house slowly collapses. The beginnings of the city's problems began in the 1. A fox stands up against a building as it peers at something outside the scene shows Mr Patman was not the only person exploring the city. A staircase leading to the now closed Ishikiri- Yubari Shrine. The arm of the statue on the right has fallen off and rests on the footing. There was once a cable car which would run up the left side of the hill A shot from the side if an unstable building which would have once been a busy business in Yubari. The windows are broken, the wood is water damaged and the structural integrity of the building gets pushed to the limit every winter as tonnes of snow accumulate on the roof A former farming shack, crumbling in the elements, surrounded by dumped rubbish with a sign in front warning not to dump rubbish in this area Many are patched up with boards and what appears to be tarpaulin while others are slowly being overgrown. Rubbish litters crumbling streets while signs slowly fade and fall away. In one photograph, a fox peers into a building, while eerily playgrounds remain empty. Here and there, signs of life show through - a working traffic light shows green, a car parked in a street, modern looking road cones sit beside a road. But overall, the atmosphere seems bleak. Mr Patman, who operates a Facebook photography page called Lost Collective and website by the same name, said at the peak of coal production in Yubari, 2. Mitsubishi & Hokutan. Yubari had built its reliance upon supplying coal to Japanese power stations and coking coal for the Muroran steelworks. A view from beside a patch- work wall over falling- apart houses reveals cloud- shrouded mountains surrounding the city. On the first floor of this now falling apart building was an Izakaya, while on the second floor a beauty salon called 'Mi' is advertised A Yubari street where the few remaining locals come to eat and drink - even this street looks empty and unused A former school over 1. Shimizusawa. The school which was closed in 1. One of the few signs of life captured by Mr Patman's photos from Yubari, a relatively well- kept car stands at the end of this alleyway A variety shop for girls in Shimizusawa. Music constantly plays from a store nearby, even when closed. It seems to break the chill of the general mood in the area A welcome sign greeting visitors to Yubari featuring the characters of the coal themed amusement park sekitan- no- rekishimura The forecourt of this abandoned garage and petrol station has more grass than customer's vehicles now. It may not look like it as there is no snow due to the season, but this is the still operational Mt Racey ski resort A clock tower over the bridge of the theme park. The surrounding building has partially collapsed and the rest of the building remains boarded up Piles of uncleared snow are seen outside a restaurant which sits at the entry to the now- abandoned coal mining theme park. The main shopping Street of Yubari. On the left side of the street is Yubari retail liquor shops association and further down is Usui Haberdashery. On the right side of the street is Shimoyama Haberdashery Similar scenes, different places - a common sight in the nearly- empty city, buildings that look like they have been abandoned. On the right, hand painted cinema signboards advertising the movies Die Hard, South Pacific & Tokyo Story. The Fukinoti (Petasites Japonicus) is a perennial plant that grows all over the Yubari. It's known to the Japanese to represent the arrival of spring, being the first green to emerge after the snow melts. It's also edible and can be battered in tempura & fried. But in the 1. 95. Japan began shifting from coal to oil to fuel the country's power stations, a shift that would bring about the beginning of Yubari's decline. By 1. 98. 0, the city's population had fallen to just over 4. In 1. 98. 1, a methane gas explosion in Hokutan New Mine killed 9. The explosion saw a Hokutan subsidiary, which ran it, go into bankruptcy two months later. Four years later another massive methane gas explosion at the Mitsubishi Minami Oyubari Mine claimed the lives of 6. It had been seen by Yubari as the last hope for the survival of its coal mining industry, and with its closure came the end to the industry that Yubari had built itself upon. Today, the median age of the population is about 6. It's similar to the demographic problems facing Japan as a whole, with high levels of public debt and an ageing, shrinking population, Mr Patman said. In an attempt to adapt to the new challenges facing the city, Yubari borrowed large sums of money to reinvent itself through tourism and melons, which it's also famous for. Possibly, they are in a part of the city that is still occupied This sign represents the the cinema street. The character on the right is the mascot of Yubari's famous movie festival 'Cinegger'. Movie watching is the favourite pastime of Yubari Residents, especially during the cold winter months of heavy snowfall which restricts movement around the city for the ageing population A hand painted signboard on the side of a house for the movie, Random Harvest, next to a crumbling parking space being overgrown by plants. Some of the smaller buildings that appear to be near the outskirts of the city look as if they have fared the worst The ticket centre for the now closed Yubari Coal Mining theme park. The theme park was an attempt by the city to rejuvenate through tourism but it ultimately failed and closed permanently. An advertisement above a still operational store for the Japanese Liquor company, Suntory, which makes a range of products including beer The darkened, empty windows of this home reflect the dark colour of the empty street outside it The Adventure Room, with its boarded up doorway, doesn't look like it's used for many adventures any more Wooden planks across doorways and windows, as pictured here, are seen on many of the disused buildings in Yubari, including a train station (left) and a block of public toilets (right)A landing opposite the theme park restaurant. Snow crushed remnants of one of the boats that used to paddle the lake can be seen on the moss covered landing Yubari's former dental clinic looks worse for wear, with a faded- looking door and darkened windows Pictured in black and white, in what appears to be a snow storm, the city looks even more desolate than in other images. The building which the former Yubari driving school was run from. The snow has collapsed the roof and damaged the structure of the entire building A series of failed investments intended to relieve the financial apocalypse facing the Yubari but instead, hastened its demise. The construction of attractions such as melon castle, a melon liquor distilling facility aimed at attracting tourists, now sits abandoned on the foothills overlooking Yubari. A 'coal mining themed amusement park' was also built, now in an advanced state of decay. Most of the attractions have been removed and scrapped. What remains has either been boarded up, crushed by snow, or is in a state of complete disrepair. Other decisions were made, such as building a road to the former Shimizusawa School with the sole purpose of demolishing it - and then not demolishing the school due to lack of funds. The day of reckoning for Yubari came in 2. The public workforce of 3. Snow clearing was cut back and public toilets were closed. According to Mr Patman, the fate of Yubari now lies in the hands of an unlikely elected mayor, Naomachi Suzuki, the youngest mayor in the country. He's tasked with leading Japan's most elderly city out of the red. Suzuki was elected aged 3. He then visited 5. Mr Patman said he believed Suzuki was one of, if not the lowest paid elected official in Japan, having taken a . The park one one of many failed attempts to revive the city Another of the many boarded up or closed shop fronts that Mr Patman photographed in the city of Yubari. Another of the many buildings which appear to have been completely abandoned in the city. This public housing was called Yume which means dream. It was built on the former Hokutan Heiwa coal mine area.
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