Japanese government does not mention forced labor of Koreans again in Sado Mine memorial service

(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Seong-mi = The Japanese government held a 'Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony' on the 12th near the Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture, the site of forced labor of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period. There was no mention of Korean forced labor at this year's memorial service.

Kyodo News reported that Yukiya Hamamoto, director-general of international cultural exchanges at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who attended the memorial ceremony held at the public hall in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture on this day as a representative of the Japanese government, said in his memorial address, "Workers from the Korean Peninsula engaged in hard labor in dangerous and harsh environments such as mine pits during the war."

He went on to express his condolences, saying, "Unfortunately, there are people who lost their lives here," but it contained only a memorial service that was very different from the year before or last year, and did not mention anything about the forced labor of Koreans at the time.

The memorial service was hosted by an executive committee comprised of Niigata Prefecture, Sado City, and local civic groups, and about 70 people attended, offering chrysanthemums to the victims and paying a moment of silence.

The Japanese government has not mentioned the forced labor of Koreans for three consecutive years from the memorial ceremony held in 2024 after the Sado Mine was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site until this year.

The memorial ceremony was promised to obtain cooperation from Korea when Japan requested that Korea reflect the entire history, including forced labor of Koreans, in the process of promoting the registration of the Sado Mine as a World Heritage Site in July 2024.

On the 9th, the Korean government announced its intention to not participate in Japan's memorial service again, saying, "We have been seriously discussing with Japan to ensure that this year's (Sado Mine) memorial service can be fully held, but we were unable to reach mutual agreement on key issues."

As Japan prepares for its first memorial service in 2024, there are major differences of opinion with South Korea over the name of the event and the forced labor of Koreans in memorial speeches, and the Korean government has been holding a separate memorial service for the Sado Mine victims every year.

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would not participate in Japan's Sado Mine memorial ceremony again this year and emphasized, "The government pays attention to the relevant decision of the 48th World Heritage Committee and urges Japan to faithfully and completely implement the recommendations in the decision."

Sado Mine was famous as a gold mine during the Edo period (1603-1867), and after the Pacific War began in earnest, it was used as a mine to secure war supplies. At this time, colonial Koreans were forcibly mobilized and worked under harsh conditions while being discriminated against.

This mine was decided to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 46th World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India in July 2024.

Ahead of the registration, the Korean government requested Japan that the "entire history" of the Sado Mine, including forced Korean labor, be reflected, and Japan accepted this request. However, criticism has since been raised that the facts of forced labor were not sufficiently expressed.

The decision adopted at the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Busan last July also evaluated that Japan had made "some progress" in implementing the World Heritage Committee's recommendation to establish an interpretation and exhibition strategy that reflects the "entire history" of the Sado Mine, but that it was not sufficient.

Local media also pointed out that the Japanese memorial service was being held in a perfunctory manner.

Kyodo News reported that at the memorial service on this day, the names of the victims were not even specified, and only greetings were given by officials.

The news agency also pointed out that the Niigata Prefectural Archives possesses a list of Korean workers mobilized at the Sado Mine, but does not make it public.

Takayo Fujiishi, a professor at Niigata University, criticized Japan's memorial service for "ignoring the pain experienced by the deceased and the sadness of the bereaved family without even revealing who is being commemorated."

He said, "In the past, Niigata Prefecture citizens found Sado Mine survivors and their bereaved families in Korea, listened to their stories from that time, and faced the facts of (Japan's) abuses. Isn't that a true memorial?"

The number of Koreans who worked at Sado Mine from 1940 to 1945 is known to be 1,519.