7. Hashima Island: Japan
The common name for this abandoned island is Gunkajima which translates to Battleship Island. About nine miles from Nagasaki, the Japanese built the island and structures on the backs of captured Chinese soldiers and Korean people. The value to the Japanese at the time was the underwater coal mines. At one time, 5,259 people lived there. When they closed the mines in 1974, the residents left the island. Recently, historians have expressed an interest in preserving the site.