Tokyo: Japan again made no mention of Koreans' forced labor during a ceremony Saturday commemorating victims of a World War II mine complex in the country. The annual ceremony began last year as a fulfillment of Japan's pledge when the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture, off the west coast, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2024.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Yukiko Okano, director-general for cultural affairs at Japan's foreign ministry, addressed the gathering as a government representative. She acknowledged the presence of many workers from the Korean Peninsula, stating that despite the unique circumstances of war, they faced difficult and dangerous conditions in the mines while being far from their families. Okano noted that some of these workers died in Japan before they could return home.
Like the previous year, South Korea boycotted the event, emphasizing that there was no agreement with Japan regarding the inclusion of an acknowledgment that the workers were mobilized against their will in the ceremony. South Korea plans to hold its own ceremony with the victims' family members in the fall, although the exact date has not been announced.
For last year's ceremony in November, Japan had sent a parliamentary vice minister as the government representative, a higher-level official than the director general who attended this year. Earlier this month, Seoul declared it would not participate in this year's memorial event due to differing views on how to honor the victims, including the description of the coercion involved in Japan's forced mobilization.
During a press conference on Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining a pragmatic approach by separating historical issues from the pursuit of future-oriented relations with Japan. The Sado mines, historically known for gold production in the 17th and 19th centuries, were primarily used to produce war supplies for the Japanese imperial army during World War II. Reports indicate that more than 1,500 Koreans were forced into labor at these mines from 1940-45.