[Desk Column] Hashima Island and Japan's Broken Promises

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] In July 2015, Japan registered 23 Meiji-era industrial heritage sites, including the Hashima (also known as Gunkanjima) coal mine, as World Cultural Heritage sites, promising the international community to also take measures to inform about historical issues such as forced labor. At that time, Kunio Sato, Japan’s ambassador to UNESCO, stated, "During the 1940s, many Koreans and other nationals were mobilized against their will at some facilities and forced to work under harsh conditions," and added, "We are prepared to take measures to help understand the implementation of Japan’s conscription policy during World War II."

However, this promise has yet to be fulfilled. This means that Japan, which committed massacres, rape, and forced labor in the past on the Korean Peninsula and across Asia, still does not reflect on its historical wrongdoings.

Among the Japanese heritage sites in the Kyushu region registered as World Heritage, approximately 30,000 Koreans, 4,000 Chinese, and 4,000 Allied prisoners of war were forcibly mobilized and made to labor during the Pacific War at the Takashima and Hashima coal mines, Yahata Steelworks, Miike coal mine, and Nagasaki shipyard. In particular, Hashima was called the “prison island” because once people entered, they could not leave alive.

The Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo, which Japan opened in June last year, contains no photos or testimonies of the victims, only false testimonies claiming "there was no ethnic discrimination or forced labor," and content praising Japan’s modernization process. Instead of honoring the many victims, including Koreans who were forcibly mobilized against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions, it insists that Japanese workers and workers from other regions were all subjected to equally harsh environments.

This contrasts with the attitude of Germany, another former Axis power. At the Zollverein coal mine in northwestern Germany, it is openly acknowledged that Nazi Germany mobilized Jews and prisoners of war for forced labor during World War II. Japan should also clearly disclose what happened in the past, apologize where necessary, and provide compensation where appropriate.

Since Japan has not fulfilled its promise, cancellation of the registration is a natural step. However, according to the "Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention," cancellation of designation is limited to cases where "the characteristics of the registered property have been lost to the extent that it is damaged" or where "improvement measures requested by UNESCO regarding the physical protection of the heritage have not been implemented." There has been no precedent of a third country requesting cancellation solely on the grounds of "historical distortion." Moreover, cancellation requires the approval of two-thirds or more of the member states of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC). Thus, we currently lack practical means of counteraction.

The 44th WHC, originally scheduled for June last year but postponed due to COVID-19, will be held online from the 16th to the 31st of this month in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China. The WHC is the international organization that decides on World Heritage registrations. According to a letter disclosed by Bae Hyun-jin, a member of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the People Power Party, in October last year, the WHC stated it would "closely monitor this issue" and "thoroughly review this matter at the 44th WHC."

Therefore, instead of pursuing the practically impossible "cancellation of designation" at this WHC, our government must meticulously and actively rally public opinion to ensure Japan fulfills its promise. Failure to do so will expose the government to criticism over what it has done so far.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.