Japan’s Sado Gold Mine has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, yet concerns arise as Japan agreed to exhibit panels on Korean Peninsula–born wartime laborers in deference to South Korea’s political demands. Historical evidence shows these workers were recruited or conscripted with wages, not forced labor. The editorial warns that this echoes the Hashima (Battleship Island) case, where concessions to South Korea led UNESCO to issue a “strong regret” against Japan. The article argues that wartime exhibits are irrelevant to the Edo-period value for which Sado was nominated and must not be included.

Exhibits on Korean Peninsula–born workers are unnecessary.
Sado Gold Mine World Heritage registration… Japan must not repeat Hashima’s disgrace.
August 2, 2024

The following is from the Sankei Shimbun’s editorial on July 28.

Exhibits on Korean Peninsula–born workers are unnecessary.
Sado Gold Mine World Heritage registration.

At the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India, it was decided that the “Sado Island Gold Mine” in Niigata Prefecture would be inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

The Sado Gold Mine is a precious mining heritage site that developed through its unique mining and refining technologies.
In the 17th century of the Edo period, it boasted one of the world’s highest levels of gold output.
That this value has been widely recognized around the world is of great significance.

However, we must point out that a problematic arrangement was made in connection with the registration decision.
Japan agreed to conduct exhibits concerning wartime Korean Peninsula–born workers, essentially accepting South Korea’s demands.

South Korea has opposed the inscription, claiming—contrary to fact—that Korean Peninsula–born workers were forcibly mobilized at the Sado Gold Mine.

Therefore, the Japanese government negotiated with South Korea and agreed to panel displays explaining “the harsh wartime labor environment of workers, including those from the Korean Peninsula.”
This means that politics has been injected into a cultural heritage site whose purpose is to convey historical facts.

At the committee meeting, the Japanese representative also stated that Japan would “continue efforts to strengthen exhibit strategies and facilities while consulting closely with South Korea.”
Does this mean allowing South Korea to have influence over the exhibits at the Sado Gold Mine?
If so, it is absolutely unacceptable.

Korean Peninsula–born workers at the Sado Gold Mine came through recruitment or conscription, and wages were paid.
In 2021, the Japanese government approved a Cabinet decision stating that this did not constitute “forced labor.”

Government officials say this agreement “does not change Japan’s existing position,” but the cultural value for which Japan recommended Sado Gold Mine as a World Heritage Site lies in the Edo period.
Exhibits relating to wartime matters are unnecessary in the first place.

When Hashima (commonly called Battleship Island) and other sites in the “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution” were registered in 2015, Japan, in consideration of South Korea’s unjust claims of forced labor, agreed to establish an information center.

Afterward, based on South Korea’s demand that the exhibits were insufficient, UNESCO issued a statement of “strong regret” toward Japan.

Japan must not repeat this disgrace.