First memorial service for wartime forced labor victims to be held at Japan's Sado Mines

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First memorial service for wartime forced labor victims to be held at Japan's Sado Mines

Published: 20 Nov. 2024, 17:12 Updated: 20 Nov. 2024, 18:13

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

A visitor looks at exhibits on Korean forced labor victims at the Sado Mines during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45) at the Aikawa History Museum in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on July 28. [YONHAP]

Japan will hold a memorial service for wartime forced labor victims at the Sado Mines, where many Koreans were forced to work during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45), on Sunday, a Japan-based committee organizing the memorial service announced Wednesday.

The memorial service is a follow-up measure Japan promised to do through an agreement with Korea when Japan registered the Sado Mines as a Unesco World Heritage site this July.

The announcement came after a delay in fixing the time of the memorial service, which sparked concerns in Korea about Japan’s sincerity in fulfilling its promise to present the complete history of the Sado Mines.

From Japan, organizing committee members, private organizations and officials from the local and central governments will attend the memorial service, while from Korea, bereaved relatives of forced labor victims and government officials will attend.

The decision to list the Sado Mines as a World Heritage Site by Japan at the 46th Unesco World Heritage Committee held in July was made by consensus — unanimous consent — because Korea, a party concerned, believed Japan’s promises and gave its approval.

At the time, the Korean government positively evaluated Japan’s acceptance of the demand that “the entire history should be reflected,” including the installation of exhibitions related to Korean workers at the site and the annual holding of a memorial service.

Initial discussions imagined the first memorial service sometime in July or August, but the date was postponed to September and again to October or November before finally being confirmed for this Sunday.

The chaotic political situation in Japan, such as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party election in September and the general election in October due to the early dissolution of the House of Representatives, may have also influenced the postponement of the memorial service.

There has also been a tug-of-war between Korea and Japan over the specifics of the event, including the name of the memorial service, location and attendees.

At the last minute, the Japanese government reportedly insisted that the name of the memorial service should include the expression “thank you,” which became a stumbling block in negotiating and finalizing the event details.

The Korean government opposed expressing “thank you” to Korean workers who were victims of forced mobilization, as it could be interpreted as diluting the coercive nature of the mobilization. The official name of the memorial service was eventually decided as the “Sado Mines Memorial Service.”

“We decided to express condolences to all workers, including Korean forced labor victims at the Sado Mines, with Japanese government officials in attendance,” an official from Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. “It is unusual for Japanese government officials to attend a memorial service related to the past between Korea and Japan.”

The Foreign Ministry plans to support the attendance of Korean government officials and the bereaved relatives of around 10 victims of forced labor at the Sado Mines.

The venue for the event has been set at the Aikawa Development Center of the Sado City Cultural Center on the west side of Sado Island.

The timing of the memorial service after next year has not been confirmed. Depending on future discussions, the timing could change to July or August, as initially discussed.

It remains to be seen how fully the history of forced labor of Koreans at the Sado Mines will be reflected during the memorial service.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]