TOKYO, Jan. 28 (BNA) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that Japan will recommend a former gold mine on Sado Island for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, despite South Korea’s protests that the site is unsuitable due to Korea’s wartime misuse. workers – a sensitive issue that continues to strain relations between neighbors, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Kishida’s decision to nominate the 400-year-old site in northern Japan appears to reflect his earlier, more cautious stance after a strong push by far-right historical reviewers in his ruling party.
Kishida said the Sado mine is valuable in Japan’s industrial history.
“Although the value is high, I understand that there are many views about its registration…which is why we want to start discussions early,” he said.
The Sado mine was selected last month by the Japan Council for Cultural Affairs as a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage The site, sparking South Korean protests.
Seoul opposes Japan’s candidacy because many Koreans brought to Japan during its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula were placed for forced labor in the mine.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry expressed “deep regret” over the Japanese decision and urged Tokyo to halt the effort. Second Vice Minister Choi Jong Moon summoned Japanese Ambassador Koichi Ibushi to lodge a protest over the issue.
Historians say Japan employed hundreds of thousands of Korean workers, including those forcibly brought from the Korean peninsula, in mines and factories to make up for the labor shortage, with most men of working age sent to battlefronts throughout Asia and the Pacific.
The town and sites affiliated with the Sado Mine are commended for demonstrating outstanding development in mining technology before and after industrialization, as it once became the world’s largest gold producer before it closed in 1989. There is no mention of the use of Korean workers in wartime.
Sado’s nomination mentions Japan’s 2015 registration of Gunkanjima, or Barge Island, in Nagasaki, as part of UNESCO’s “Meiji Industrial Revolution Sites in Japan”. South Korea’s protests over the site’s omission of Koreans toiling on the island sparked a UNESCO decision urging Japan to present a more balanced version of history.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Friday demanded Japan educate its people about Korean workers who were mistreated during Japanese colonial rule, a promise Tokyo made when Gunkanjima was registered.
Kishida said a “calm and extensive discussion” should be held on the planned recording of the Sado mine. Kishida said his government formally approved Sado’s recommendation on Tuesday.
The Kishida government has previously considered postponing the nomination but appears to have reversed itself after facing mounting pressure from former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his supporters, who are known for their efforts to whitewash Japan’s wartime past.
“It would be wrong not to recommend that it avoid war of words. We must fight back with facts,” Abe said last week at a meeting of his group within the ruling party. Sana Takaishi, the party policy official who protects her, told a parliamentary session this week that this issue is “a matter of honor for Japan.” “.
Relations between Tokyo and Seoul It is currently at its lowest level in years due to conflicts arising from sexual abuse of Korean women in Japan and the use of forced labor before and during World War II.
The government is expected to submit a letter of recommendation to UNESCO by the February 1 deadline.
If all goes as planned, a UNESCO advisory group will survey the mine site in the fall before making a decision in May 2023 to add it to the list ahead of a World Heritage Committee examination.
AOQ