Japan is set to hold a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines, which were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2024. These mines, which were in operation from the 16th century until 1989, have a dark history linked to the forced labor of Koreans during World War II. Thousands of Koreans were subjected to brutal conditions in the mines, forced to work under severe exploitation, with many dying or suffering from long-term health issues.
While the ceremony is meant to honor all workers who died at the mines, critics argue that Japan continues to downplay or whitewash the role of Korean forced laborers, and the event has sparked tensions with South Korea. South Korea has decided to boycott the memorial due to disagreements over how the history is being represented, despite Japans promises to improve the exhibition and acknowledge the suffering of Korean laborers.
The controversy stems from Japans acknowledgment of the conditions under which the Korean laborers worked, but refusal to classify it as forced labor. South Korea had opposed the UNESCO listing until Japan agreed to include references to the forced labor in the exhibition and to hold an annual memorial ceremony, which was supposed to help mend relations between the two countries. However, the lack of explicit recognition of the victims' forced labor status remains a sticking point.
