Japan: "The Core of Sado Mine is the Edo Period"... Emphasizes No Relation to Korean Forced Labor

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 4th, Masahito Moriyama, Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, stated that the key point regarding the Sado Mine, which the Japanese government is promoting for UNESCO World Heritage registration, is that "it was hand-mined during the Edo period." This reiterated the Japanese government's existing claim that the World Heritage value of the Sado Mine is unrelated to the forced labor of Koreans.

According to foreign media including Kyodo News, Minister Moriyama made this remark during a press conference in response to a question about South Korea's view that people from the Korean Peninsula were mobilized for forced labor. He said, "The forced labor claimed by South Korea pertains to the Meiji period (1868?1912) and later."

Japan has applied for the Sado Mine, a site of forced labor of Koreans, as a World Heritage site, naming the heritage "Sado Island’s Gold Mine (金山)." The targeted period is limited to the Edo period, from the 16th century to the mid-19th century. Although this has been criticized for ignoring the entire history of the heritage, Japan emphasizes that the core value lies in the "traditional gold production technology and system."

Minister Moriyama asserted the heritage value of the Sado Mine, stating, "From the 16th to the 19th century, when mechanization was progressing in mines worldwide, it realized the world's largest-scale and highest-quality gold production through traditional manual craftsmanship."

Regarding the disclosure of the evaluation results of the Sado Mine by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), the advisory body to the World Heritage Committee, he said, "It feels like it will be soon," and added, "I look forward to the cultural value being evaluated and will wait for good fortune." The ICOMOS evaluation results for the Sado Mine are expected to be released as early as this week.

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said at a press conference on the same day, "We are discussing with South Korea so that the excellent value can be recognized," and added, "We intend to continue sincere, persistent, and courteous discussions (with South Korea)."

The final decision on the registration of the Sado Mine is scheduled to be made at the World Heritage Committee meeting to be held in late next month in New Delhi, India.