UNESCO Criticizes Japan's Battleship Island Historical Distortion Resolution... "Insufficient Explanation on Korean Forced Labor"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] UNESCO adopted a resolution expressing regret over the lack of explanation regarding the forced labor of Koreans on Japan's Hashima Island, which is registered as a World Heritage site.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the 22nd (local time), the UNESCO World Heritage Committee expressed strong regret over Japan's failure to implement follow-up measures after the registration of Japan's Modern Industrial Heritage as a World Heritage site and adopted a decision urging faithful implementation by consensus.

The decision adopted at this meeting is identical to the draft decision published on the World Heritage Centre's website on the 12th.

UNESCO strongly expressed regret that Japan has not faithfully implemented UNESCO's decision, including explanations of the forced mobilization of Koreans.

Additionally, it urged the implementation of the joint investigation team's report decisions, which include five items: ▲overall historical interpretation strategy for each facility ▲measures to understand forced labor of Koreans and others ▲victim memorial measures ▲international best practices ▲dialogue among concerned parties.

Previously, the UNESCO investigation team pointed out the need for detailed explanations regarding measures on forced labor of Koreans and others in a report prepared after inspecting the Tokyo Industrial Heritage Information Center from the 7th to the 9th.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee requested the submission of an updated implementation progress report by December 1, 2022, for review at the 46th World Heritage Committee in 2023.

The current World Heritage Committee is being held online from the 16th for 31 days, with over 1,300 participants including delegations from 21 World Heritage Committee member countries. As an observer, South Korea sent Ambassador Kim Dong-gi to UNESCO as the chief representative, along with delegations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cultural Heritage Administration, and private experts.

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