Japan's Sado Mine World Heritage Listing Push... Government Urges Immediate Withdrawal

Summoning the Director of Public Affairs and Culture at the Embassy of Japan in Korea to Protest "Firm Response"
Forced Labor Sites of Koreans during Japanese Colonial Rule... At Least 1,140 Mobilized
Only Sado Mine Submitted as Recommended Site... Formal Japanese Nomination Expected to Follow

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 28th, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs' Cultural Council selected the Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture as a candidate for recommendation to be registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Kyeon Jong-ho, Director of the Public Cultural Diplomacy Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, summoned Kazuo Chujo (中條一夫), Director of the Public and Cultural Affairs Office at the Embassy of Japan in Korea, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building to lodge a protest. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated, "Bringing political issues repeatedly to UNESCO is undesirable not only for bilateral relations but also for the Japanese side."

The Japanese government emphasized the significance of large-scale gold mining in the 17th century and the remaining related traces. However, the Sado Mine was a site of forced labor of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period. During the Pacific War, it was used as a mine to secure war materials such as copper, iron, and zinc. The minimum number of Koreans mobilized during wartime was 1,140. Japanese official documents also revealed that wages were not properly paid.

Niigata Prefecture and Sado City have consistently proposed the Sado Mine for World Cultural Heritage recommendation to the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs since 2006. In the recommendation materials submitted in March 2015, the target period was limited from the late Sengoku period to the Edo period. It is presumed that the content of this recent recommendation is not significantly different. The Agency for Cultural Affairs stated regarding this candidate selection, "Selection is not a recommendation decision, and it will be comprehensively reviewed within the government going forward." However, the only site for which a recommendation was submitted to the Agency for Cultural Affairs aiming for 2023 World Cultural Heritage registration is the Sado Mine. There has never been a case where the Japanese government did not officially recommend a candidate selected by the Cultural Council. The UNESCO submission deadline is February 1 of next year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Choi Young-sam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a commentary that "the situation where even the follow-up measures promised by Japan itself after the World Heritage Committee's decision on 'Japan's Modern Industrial Heritage' have not been properly implemented," and added, "We will firmly respond together with UNESCO and the international community to ensure that sites where forced labor was carried out against the will of the individuals are not registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites without sufficient description." In 2015, Japan promoted the registration of modern industrial heritage sites such as Hashima (Gunkanjima) as World Heritage and acknowledged the fact of forced labor of Koreans. Japan also promised to establish an Industrial Heritage Information Center to honor the victims. However, Japan introduced testimonies claiming there was no forced labor at wartime facilities, which provided a pretext for worsening Korea-Japan relations. In this regard, the World Heritage Committee urged improvements in explanations related to forced Korean labor last July.

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