THE UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to register Japan’s Sado Island gold mine as a cultural heritage site.
According to UNESCO, the Sado Island gold mines are a serial property located on Sado Island, some thirty-five kilometres west of the Niigata prefecture coast.
It is formed of several component parts illustrative of different unmechanized mining methods.
Sado gold mine was once the largest gold mine complex in the world, and it was approved for inscription on the UNESCO world heritage list at a committee hearing in India.
To recall, South Korea initially opposed its registration, saying that the mining complex was the site of forced labor involving Koreans during World War 2.
In response to this, UNESCO recommended to Japan that it should develop “facilities that comprehensively address, at the site level, the whole history of the nominated property throughout all periods of mining exploitation.”
After negotiating for months, the Japanese government agreed to set up an exhibit about the working conditions of the Sado gold mine Aikawa history museum on Sado Island.
Japan also said that it would hold an annual memorial event on the island for the wartime laborers.
A South Korean representative consented to the registration of the mining complex.
Following the Sado gold mine’s inclusion to the world heritage list, the South Korean foreign ministry said it hopes Japan will take faithful measures and continue efforts to improve ties between Japan and South Korea.
