Seoul: South Korea voiced disappointment Saturday after Japan's follow-up report on its UNESCO-listed industrial sites failed to provide the full historical context, including the wartime forced labor involving Koreans. Japan had previously committed to acknowledging the victims, many of whom were Koreans forced into hard labor, when its 23 Meiji-era industrial revolution sites received UNESCO World Heritage status in 2015. One notable site includes Hashima Island, where Koreans were forcibly taken to produce war supplies for the Japanese Imperial Army.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) recommended that Tokyo take measures to reflect the "full history" of these facilities as requested by Seoul. This included steps to better present the history of forced labor and the number of Koreans who were taken against their will to work under harsh conditions. The WHC also called for Japan to make adjustments to museum exhibits at these sites. However, in its latest report released Friday (Paris time), Japan fell short of following through on the WHC recommendations, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
"We once again express our regret that the WHC's repeated decisions and the follow-up measures Japan itself has promised have not been faithfully carried out," stated foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong. "We urge Japan to promptly and sincerely implement the relevant follow-up measures in line with its own commitments to the international community," he added. In particular, Japan did not remove the museum exhibit asserting the legality of its 1910-1945 forced annexation of Korea and the materials denying the forced labor, despite Seoul's repeated requests, a ministry official mentioned.
The materials claim that the working and living conditions for Koreans were no different from those of Japanese workers, a stance unchanged from the initial exhibits. Although Japan included victims' testimonies in line with WHC recommendations, these materials are relegated to a Korean-language resources collection on a bookshelf, rather than being prominently featured in an exhibit, the official explained. Another official suggested that Japan's actions could affect South Korea's stance on Tokyo's future bids for UNESCO inscription of historical sites linked to the forced mobilization of Koreans.
"Japan risks damaging its international reputation by failing to implement the WHC decision," the official noted. "We will consider all possible actions for a strong response. We will not rule out any specific actions we may or may not take." The ministry stated it will continue to address this issue in bilateral talks with Japan, as well as within the UNESCO framework. Upon the site's UNESCO inscription, Japan acknowledged that many Koreans were "brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions" and promised to take concrete steps to fully present the history. However, Japan's limited follow-up measures have drawn Seoul's ire.
In 2023, the WHC adopted a decision calling on Japan to submit a follow-up report on the implementation of such measures after its four previous reports were deemed insufficient. Japan's latest report followed South Korea's boycott of a Japan-hosted memorial ceremony for Korean victims of the Sado mine complex, another UNESCO-listed forced labor site, last November, citing Tokyo's "lack of efforts" to sincerely honor the victims.