Pushing for Sado Mine listing while ignoring history is an insult

In Niigata Prefecture, Japan, there is an organization called the "Group for Listing Sado Gold Mine a World Heritage Site." Although it's a private organization, it is a de facto governmental group working to promote the registration of the Sado Mine as a World Heritage Site. Last year, the organization released a 2-minute and 10-second cheer song and video for the nomination campaign. The catchy melody has lyrics like, "My heart is on fire, and I will fulfill my dream, a world heritage site that I want the world to know." There is an animated music video with cute characters and a short video of young men and women dancing energetically in front of the Sado Mine. While this may be entertaining to locals, it is offensive and even insulting to Koreans who know about the history of forced labor during the Japanese occupation.

The young people who wrote the song, created the music video, and appeared in it are students from the K-Pop Entertainment Department at a two-year junior college in Niigata Prefecture. The college issued a press release announcing the music and video, which the group commissioned, and even promoted the school as "a place where students from all over the country gather to learn K-pop." It's difficult to understand the situation of young Japanese individuals who have an affinity for Korea and a love for K-pop participating in (or being used by) the distortion of history. It's hard to know whether to blame the Japanese government for covering up history or the ignorant young people who haven't learned history.

It's a long-standing Japanese tactic to cover up its dark history while showcasing only its proud moments. The Japanese government promised to "take measures to honor the victims" when it inscribed the Hashima Island Undersea Coal Mine as a World Heritage Site in 2015. However, the Industrial Heritage Information Center was built in Tokyo, 1,000 kilometers from Hashima Island. It did not even document the discrimination against Koreans or human rights violations.

You could say that the Japanese government promised to honor the victims but not necessarily to reflect on the site. However, because of this attitude, UNESCO's advisory body, ICOMOS, has recommended that the Sado Mine nomination be referred back to Japan, stating that "the whole history of the site, covering all periods, should be explained comprehensively at the site level." Of the 36 World Heritage nominations evaluated by ICOMOS this year, Sado Mine is the only one to receive such a recommendation. This indicates that ICOMOS recognizes the potential distortion of history if Japan does not clarify this issue.

No country knows better than Japan what it means to record and honor history. At the entrance to Sado Mine, there is a graveyard called Mushukunin. This gravestone honors those who died in the mines during the Edo period, who lived as vagrants in the big cities without homes or family registers but were forced to work in the mines. Even the homeless and persons of unknown domicile are honored with a tombstone, and their spirits are soothed every year. However, despite being such a country, Japan does not even publish a list of Koreans who were forcibly taken away during the war.

Niigata Prefecture, which is eager for the World Heritage listing of the Sado Mine, held a public event called the "World Heritage Registration Prefectural Assembly General Meeting" on Saturday, urging for a united public-private effort, stating that "the realization of a long-standing dream is at hand.” Ignoring the recommendations of international organizations, the prefecture held a pep rally and voiced their support for the site to be listed as a World Heritage Site as per their application. How can we discuss friendship and improve relations with a country that shows no sincerity in acknowledging its history, let alone reflecting on it? I don’t even expect them to reflect on their wrongdoings. I simply hope they fulfill the request of the international community to record the facts accurately.