The UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) has agreed to include the Sado Mines in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in the list of World Heritage sites. This decision, made at a meeting held in New Delhi, India, on July 27, acknowledges the forced labor of Koreans during Japan’s colonial rule. The South Korean government agreed to this inclusion, considering Japan’s prior establishment of an exhibit titled ‘Life of Mine Workers, including those from the Korean Peninsula,’ addressing the harsh working conditions at the Aikawa Folk Museum near the Sado Mines.
At the WHC meeting, Kano Takehiro, Japan’s ambassador to UNESCO, stated that the Japanese government would develop a comprehensive interpretive and exhibition strategy and facilities reflecting the entire history of the Sado Mines. He deeply sympathized with all workers, particularly Korean laborers, at the site.
The Japanese government initially sought to highlight only the Edo period, emphasizing Sado Mines’ status as the world’s largest gold producer in the 17th century. This approach excluded the period when Korean workers were mobilized.
However, South Korea raised concerns with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to UNESCO, prompting a recommendation in June for Japan to present the entire history of the site. The two governments negotiated, resulting in Japan agreeing to install an exhibition center detailing the history, including forced labor, at the Sado Mines. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that “friendly relations between Japan and South Korea made the agreement possible.”
An exhibit at the Aikawa Folk Museum, located approximately 2 kilometers from the Sado Mines, includes information about over 1,000 Korean laborers who worked there under the National Mobilization Law during World War II. It details how these workers, under more dangerous conditions than their Japanese counterparts, faced food shortages and hazardous work environments, including incidences of death, often facilitated by the Japanese colonial government.
The museum features five exhibition rooms, with one section dedicated to the harsh labor conditions experienced by Korean workers. Japan has committed to providing informational materials to visitors and including Korean laborers in the annual memorial service for Sado Mines workers.
However, the exhibit does not explicitly mention “forced labor” concerning Korean workers, a notable omission compared to the “forced to work” description used during the 2015 World Heritage listing of industrial sites, including Hashima Island.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida referred to the Sado Mines as a pinnacle of Japan’s unique technology, comparable to Western mechanization, but did not address the issue of forced labor. This has led to criticism from the main opposition, the Democratic Party of Korea, which criticized the government for neglecting to address historical issues.
