UNESCO draft calls on Japan to expand Sado mine history displays
The committee says progress remains inadequate and wants Japan to keep consulting concerned countries over how the mine’s history across all periods is presented.
- A UNESCO World Heritage Committee draft decision states that Japan's historical displays for the Sado Island Gold Mines are inadequate and must be broadened.
- The call for expansion is driven by the need to include the history of forced labor by people from the Korean Peninsula during World War II, a period not covered in Japan's original application.
- Despite a previous update from Japan, UNESCO found the progress insufficient and is requesting further consultation with concerned countries and additional reports.
A draft decision from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee says Japan should broaden the historical account presented at the Sado Island Gold Mines after the panel found that measures taken so far remained inadequate.
It reflects South Korea’s position that people from the Korean Peninsula were compelled to work at the complex during the Second World War.
The property is in the city of Sado in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan.
The mines were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2024.
Japan’s application had envisaged displays dealing with their past from the late 16th century to the mid-19th century.
South Korea withdrew its initial opposition only after making its support conditional on the creation of a facility containing material about the wartime period.
The committee later sought an account of the mines’ history across all periods.
An update filed by Japan last year was judged to show some progress, but not enough.
The latest text asks Japan to keep consulting the countries concerned about how much has been achieved and to provide further reports.
Yonhap News Agency said the draft had reached the committee’s member countries by Wednesday (July 15).
The committee will gather in Busan, South Korea, from July 19 to 29.
Consideration of the Sado text is planned from Monday to Thursday, with adoption expected unless objections are lodged.
Japan does not currently sit on the committee.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
