Japan: Japan will hold a memorial ceremony next week to honor workers, including many Koreans, who were forced into hard labor at an old mine complex during World War II, a Japan-based committee organizing the event said Wednesday. The event will take place at the Aikawa Development Center on western Sado Island, off Japan's west coast, Sunday, the executive committee organizing the Sado mines memorial ceremony said. According to Yonhap News Agency, the announcement came after Japan's delay in fixing the timing of the memorial service sparked concerns in South Korea about Japan's sincerity in fulfilling its pledge to present the full history of the site, including its links to the forced mobilization of Koreans. Japan earlier promised to hold the memorial ceremony to remember the forced labor victims as a precondition for the inscription of the Sado gold and silver mines as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July. Tokyo had initially indicated it was considering holding the ceremony as early as August and on a regular basis going forward.