national

Japan, S Korea exchange protests over World Heritage nomination

51 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

51 Comments
Login to comment

This whole World Heritage nomination thing has gone off the rails. It just a vehicle for self promotion and a political football now. Lets just declare the entire planet a world heritage and get done with it.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Shōwa Statism (国家主義, Kokka Shugi) was a political syncretism of Japanese extreme political ideologies, developed over a period of time from the Meiji Restoration. It is sometimes also referred to as Emperor-system fascism (天皇制ファシズム),[1] Shōwa nationalism or Japanese fascism.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statism_in_Shōwa_Japan

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

RodneyFeb. 4  11:09 am JST

“Grasshopper, famous saying, whoever win war, write history”

Neither Japan nor Korea won any war against each other in WWII. In fact Korea was part of the Japanese Empiore and Koreans served in the Japanese military invading other Asian countries. It's only after WWII ended and Korea became independent that they suddenly decided to apply revisionist history.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

At the end of the day, Japan was a fascist country. End of discussion.

No nation was not a fascist country in humane history and we all are dealing with several fascist countries even now.

If the Japanese fascist had won the war with the German fascists life would’ve been hell on earth not only for Koreans but for every other non-Japanese.

Utopia does not visit you while you and your kids are alive. A fascist country without discrimination by identity, religion, color could be better than corrupt democratic countries.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

gintonicFeb. 4  03:14 pm JST

Speaking of Koreans, they were Japanese then."

Cool, how about asking some Korean peple whether they agree with you on that one?

Sure there are many of them around me who say so"

Amazing train of thought there.....Korea being occupied by Japan does not make the population into Japanese.

You are short on research. Koreans did not become Japanese because of the 1910 Annexation. They became Japanese because Japan legally granted automatic Japanese nationality to Koreans. Take note that it is something that European powers did not grant to their many colonial subjects all over the world.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

At the end of the day, Japan was a fascist country. End of discussion.

Any discussion of whether Japan was a little bit or a lot evil is kinda absurd. We don’t say that of Hitler or Mussolini. They were fascist governments we don’t care that they were a little less cruel and evil in some things or that some things that they did were efficient or that maybe the trains ran on time. We don’t care.

If the Japanese fascist had won the war with the German fascists life would’ve been hell on earth not only for Koreans but for every other non-Japanese. Discussing whether Japanese or Korean minors were slaves or maybe not so much slaves can be interesting ( not) but ultimately plays into the hands of the Japanese right wingers who are desperate to grasp a few drips of some legitimacy in their fascist government. Which is not only sad and pathetic but it’s also dangerous for the world. The samurai mentality is a menace to the world.

But the truth is there was no legitimacy to japan’s past because it was was a weird fascist extremists force with fanatics who would do absolutely anything for their emperor/God. And nothing we can say now can ever change that.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

What, is Korea going to bring up “a Japanese guy’s photo taken in the 1950s”, build a statue of it, publish it on textbooks and even advertise it at Times Square?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

@browny1Today  10:23 am JST

kennyG - thankyou for your response.

Whether the material infers guessing or suggesting is all a matter of interpretation and we are now not privy to any live 1st hand accounts. Truth often lies somewhere in between

Suffice to say that the mine over 100s of years was a place of great suffering for 10,000s of workers of Japanese and foreign nationalities, and that it surely, esp in the latter stages of the war, must have been a hell on earth from which many would have loved to escape from - but couldn't.

As you acknowledged, all this should be told.

Thank you for your response too. Only truths should be told. Nothing somewhere in between should not last forever as epitaphs of World heritage or as Memory of the World. And If those are found to be untrue, those should be deregistered or edited, taken back regardless, Kono-danwa, epitaphs of comfort women statues all around the world, Coomaraswamy's and other special reports at UN. That is not revisionism

3 ( +4 / -1 )

kennyG - thankyou for your response.

Whether the material infers guessing or suggesting is all a matter of interpretation and we are now not privy to any live 1st hand accounts. Truth often lies somewhere in between

Suffice to say that the mine over 100s of years was a place of great suffering for 10,000s of workers of Japanese and foreign nationalities, and that it surely, esp in the latter stages of the war, must have been a hell on earth from which many would have loved to escape from - but couldn't.

As you acknowledged, all this should be told.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@browny1

I've quickly read it

Quote)Toya’s account does not clarify whether the “POWs” in his wife’s memory were Caucasian or Asian. The restraint of the prisoners by ropes certainly suggests that they were Korean slave laborers, since the Koreans had a history of escaping, hiding among the Sado population, and trying to get back to Korea by fishing boat.

 

First of all, Toya Kiichi is a story writer.

Secondly, Toya described in his novel about his wife’s memory, which was about prisoners. Korean miners were not prisoners nor treated as prisoners.

Thirdly,  GREGORY HADLEY & JAMES OGLETHORPE only guessing they were Koreans

 

Quote) Not until 1944, when Mitsubishi Mining was required to dedicate all of the copper ore it produced to the war effort, did the Aikawa mines truly become a forced labor camp. Security was increased to prevent the Koreans from escap ing, work contracts were summarily annulled, and the pay of the Korean laborers was drastically reduced. At the end of the war, about 580 Korean laborers at Aikawa were repatriated.33 

 

33. Teizo- Hirose, “Sado Kinsan to Chosenjin Ro- do-sha (1939–1945)” [Sado’s Gold Mountain and Korean Laborers (1939–1945)], **Niigata University of Interna tional and Information Studies Research Reports 3 (2000): 1–12.  **

 

I checked the original reference by Teizo Hirose, which is this

https://cc.nuis.ac.jp/library/files/kiyou/vol03/3_hirose.pdf

 

Nowhere in the original it stated that work contracts were summarily annulled, and the pay of the Korean laborers was drastically reduced, which I have no idea where GREGORY HADLEY & JAMES OGLETHORPE refereed to in Hirose’s paper.

 

Anyway your point well-taken and I would not keep posting like this if those were all true stories

1 ( +2 / -1 )

kennyG - Thanks - looks like similar points raised which I mentioned in my earlier posts.

The link I gave for academia.edu mentions those other details and lists references for points made.

As I said from the start of this discussion - the key point is when applying for UNESCO world heritage all aspects of the place of interest need to be submitted. That would be the same regardless of applying for cultural, historical, natural etc status.

Probably the Aikawa mine is worthy of heritage preservation - but warts and all in the storytelling is necessary imo.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@browny1Today  06:36 pm JST

kennyG - here's one link that appears to be trustworthy.

It in fact debunks some of the myths surrounding the mine, but doesn't sway from mentioning aspects of the forced labour.

(PDF) MacKay’s Betrayal: Solving the Mystery of the “Sado Island Prisoner-of-War Massacre” | Gregory Hadley - Academia.edu

This is not an excuse but I am not a kind of JT readers/posters who can spend time all day long every day.

I just noticed that your comment " It in fact debunks some of the myths surrounding the mine, but doesn't sway from mentioning aspects of the forced labour."

So I intentionally picked different link which is

https://fdocuments.in/document/mackays-betrayal-solving-the-mystery-of-the-sado-island-prisoner-.html

where it is stated...

Betrayal in High Places, a book written in 1996 by the late JamesMacKay, has created debate among World War II historians and for-mer prisoners of war (POWs) because it claims to reveal sup-pressed Allied reports of Japanese war atrocities, such as the massacre of 387 American, Australian, British, and Dutch POWs ina gold mine at Aikawa on Sado Island, Japan, in 1945. Our investigation finds that the Sado massacre report is an intentional forgery,and that MacKays book is a spurious historical source. We explain why he sought to deceive the public and contrast his fiction with the historical truth about Sado Island.

In his book Betrayal in High Places, published in 1996, New Zealandauthor James MacKay claimed to have discovered a cache of secret military reports on atrocities committed against Allied prisoners of war(POWs) by the Japanese during the Second World War. MacKay assertedthat these files had been preserved by the late Captain James Gowing..... skip

To date, the Sado Island massacre story has found a largely receptive audience. Given the harsh treatment suffered by Allied POWs in Japan during World War II, it was easy for MacKays readers to believe thatPOWs would be sent to the mines in Aikawa, just as they had been forced to work in mines in other parts of Japan. The publication of File 125Mhas caused many people, especially the relatives of missing servicemen,to wonder whether the skeletons of hundreds of Allied POWs might still be entombed deep within Aikawas gold mountain....skip

As we will show in this article, however, Betrayal in High Places is replete with exaggerations and outright lies. We have strong evidencethat File 125M is a cynical hoax created by James MacKay, and that itdoes not reflect any aspect of the real history of Sado Island during the Second World War....skip

Our research turned up several key documents highlighting the extensive inaccuracies in the text of Betrayal in High Places:

I am not sure if I am reading the same stuff as you did but frankly speaking, I must ask you is it worth reading

all of them? If this paper is what you meant, I highly appreciate where I can find information on Koreans tied up together with rope to stop them leaving (ie running away/escaping), because by mingling in with the locals they would be difficult to locate.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@browny1Today  09:56 am JST

Authorative investigations have largely put to rest the claim that allied POWs were killed at Sado.

Most of the claims were based on the now heavily criticized book by James Mckay - Betrayal in High Places.

Thank you hope I can come back to you before the thread gets closed.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The point is not to debate the conditions that these Koreans minors faced, obviously they were horrendous. To do that would be to play into the hands of the LDP right wingers.

I mean Japan was a fascist nation that did terrible things and killed millions of people and not just in WW2.

The point is to show the real motive for the LDP to use this and other provocations, like Yasukini, with regard to Korea to whip up anti-Korean hate so they can raise their poll numbers and ultimately stay out of jail.

I read today that Korea is sending millions of COVID-19 test kits to Japan but that won’t make the news here. It’s all about how the Koreans hate Japanese, lol

JapanToday editors, please don’t delete this because it’s about the real motives of the LDP behind this world heritage application, so it’s on point

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

kennyG - here's one link that appears to be trustworthy.

It in fact debunks some of the myths surrounding the mine, but doesn't sway from mentioning aspects of the forced labour.

(PDF) MacKay’s Betrayal: Solving the Mystery of the “Sado Island Prisoner-of-War Massacre” | Gregory Hadley - Academia.edu

0 ( +5 / -5 )

And the one who presented the thesis is a Korean professor in South Korea

0 ( +5 / -5 )

@browny1

I ask you to post the link. So for the courtesy, I post an academic thesis for your reading on actual conditions of Korean miners of those days. Hope you can read Japanese.

https://catalog.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/opac_download_md/1807618/p063.pdf

I have much more to back up what I stated here if mods allow me to post those

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Amazing train of thought there.....Korea being occupied by Japan does not make the population into Japanese.

You are not making any sense. You say ask some Koreans. And there're many Koreans in Japan, if you know it.

@browny1

But it is well documented that as the war dragged on, and by 1944, many of these workers and new workers were conscripted or forced to work with out the benefits of earlier days.

In fact often they were roped together to stop them leaving (ie running away/escaping), because by mingling in with the locals they would be difficult to locate.

There are credible archive accounts attesting to such.

Being compelled to work in deplorable conditions against one's will, especially in the latter days of the war can only = forced labour.

Appreciate your link to such attesting, even better if they are hopefully some 3rd party's proof as people already quite fed up with lies piled upon tons of lies of so-called victims' testimonies.

Also, if conscription is forcing people to serve military, or work at factories, or in the mines. Sure It must be called forced labor. Is that what you're saying? SK insists it's all forced, slave labor, then so were what were forced upon on Japanese youths of those days. After all, the bottom line... It was WAR, and International law of those days and even now does not label it forced labor for the work a nation had no choice to mobilize it's people. Fundamental problem is South Korea believes it was not legal annexation but invasion, they don't deal with the logic, therefore, mobilize it's citizen during war, but simply insisting Japan mobilized citizen of other nation.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

I used to be mystified by Japanese politics but once I understood that the whole point of Yasukuni and these world heritage applications, for example, is to whip up South Korean anger and protest which in turn whips up Japanese support at the polls which then enables the right wingers to stay in power and stay out of jail. Once I understood this then Japanese politics became very obvious for me. Is just endless provocations against Koreans to stay in power.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

@kennyG - yes you are correct in stating that the Korean workers in the mines were contacted and received payment.

But it is well documented that as the war dragged on, and by 1944, many of these workers and new workers were conscripted or forced to work with out the benefits of earlier days.

In fact often they were roped together to stop them leaving (ie running away/escaping), because by mingling in with the locals they would be difficult to locate.

There are credible archive accounts attesting to such.

Being compelled to work in deplorable conditions against one's will, especially in the latter days of the war can only = forced labour.

Simply acknowledging this fact should be part of the UNESCO submission.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

This in diplomatic parlance is called a ”provocation “. Japanese right wingers always do a provocation against South Korea to gain popularity and stay out of jail. Of course the meek Japanese public just follow along. Hopefully this post won’t be deleted because it is true

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Chung said Japan has not faced up to the history of forced Korean laborers during the country's 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said.

Hayashi, meanwhile, said South Korea's argument about the mine is unacceptable, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.

Chung's point seems reasonable given what happened at the Gunkanjima site.

Why does Hayashi think it is unacceptable? The Kyodo article does not say. It continues

He told Chung that Japan-South Korea relations remain in a tough situation due to moves by South Korea on issues such as compensation to wartime laborers and "comfort women" in Japan's military brothels during World War II, and that Seoul should make an "appropriate response" to deal with it, the ministry said.

What has this got to do with the Sado Unesco request?

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

folks the real reason this is coming up even though the kishida administration didn’t want to apply for this this year is bc Abe and the right wingers of course actually want the South Koreans to protest and for this world heritage application to fail. In other words they win if it succeeds and they also win if it is fails due to South Korean protest.

Once it fails it will be used by the right wing to gain more popularity. More popularity means that the right wingers stay in power and they stay out of jail. Staying in power and staying out of jail is there whole MO of the LDP. Of course they don’t really care about history per se lol.

-2 ( +7 / -9 )

i don't see a problem with this mine so long as Japan acknowledges and informs everyone about the truth (i.e. Koreans were used as slaves)....

I remember going on vacation and visiting various tourist spots in British Columbia, Canada and they were very upfront about how many chinese died building the railroad and how they were being treated violently and all.. Japan could learn something from Canada!

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

X: folled

0: fooled

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There are historical evidence that Korean miners for Sado-kinzan were not forced labor, not to mention slave labor. They were mostly contract-based workers and some legally conscripted workers"

You seem to have no idea that going to Japan and working at Gold (& Silver) mines was popular among them.

Anyone who has ever seen news articles of those days knows this fact. Most of them applied for the jobs , YES, voluntarily and competitive ratio was anywhere between twice and 5 times as much. Toward the end of the war, yes there were some conscripted workers, but all of them knew IN ADVANCE about working conditions and compulsory saving for the portion of their wage. They CHOSE to work and signed on the contract, sure they must work for what's paid. Of course there are minor wage difference depending on each skills as miners, but that is the same among Japanese. They are treated the same as Japanese miners.

Yep...just like the sex slave women , ey? All came voluntarily to make some yen.

When you have chance, go visit in front of Japanese embassy in Seoul and see what kind of group is nowadays demonstrating on Wednesday. They are there to crash "Comfort women Fraud" which folled entire South Korea and entire world

Speaking of Koreans, they were Japanese then."

Cool, how about asking some Korean peple whether they agree with you on that one?

Sure there are many of them around me who say so

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

South Koreans still abuse their victim status and indoctrinate their people to hate Japan from primary school. The hate mongering is so normalized that multiple people have set themselves on fire at protests.

I see no hate for Japan in this issue where there is a clear "difference of opinion". Why make it what it is not? Did they call Japan names in the process or talk about hate for Japan?

Can both nations not have any difference of opinions without one side or the other making accusations of hate?

UNESCO will make a determination and advise Japan of it's decision. Until then, agree to disagree without flying off the handle and making assumptions of hatred, please.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

This is a typical example of stereotype. Covid showed the real image of japan and japanese system, rights, x3nophobia and all. I think there lot more thing that needs to get exposed.

Complaining about stereotypes and stereotyping in the same comment. Sad.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

This is a typical example of stereotype. Covid showed the real image of japan and japanese system, rights, x3nophobia and all. I think there lot more thing that needs to get exposed.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

I think the point of Korean protest is not explained in this article. If Koreans were forced to work there, it is what makes this mine unique and necessary to be added to the World Heritage list so more people will learn about these horrible times.

Quite oddly, the Korean officials have not substantiated their claims. As always, they show knee-jerk reactions and nitpicks to try to gain wider attentions. Considering their stalking behavior, Japan better stay away, keep some politico-social distance from the peninsula, which I believe is a win-win peaceful solution for both sides.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

There are historical evidence that Korean miners for Sado-kinzan were not forced labor, not to mention slave labor. They were mostly contract-based workers and some legally conscripted workers under war-time emergency mobilization law( where all Japanese, men or women, were also conscripted) And Koreans were treated the same as Japanese miners were.

Speaking of Koreans, they were Japanese then.

-4 ( +9 / -13 )

Love letters

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Going by all the downvotes it seems like our right-wing friends are around again in full force.

Lest we forget Japan's behavior last time around when they gained South Korea's approval for listing Gunkanjima. First they promise to tell the whole history of that place including the part about the forced labor only to turn around and present a whitewashed version of history after they gained approval. So Korea was right back then when they were first against the approval since what they likely assumed did happen(the whitewashing). I can only assume that it's the same this time around. They are not against the listing in general but they are against listing a site when you only the part of history is told that puts Japan in a good light while leaving out everything else. And considering Japan's behavior last time I don't think that Korea will buckle this time.

0 ( +9 / -9 )

“Grasshopper, famous saying, whoever win war, write history”

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

There's an easy and equitable way out of this: Highlight the labor conditions. Japan is not the only country to have engaged in slavery. Sadly, it continues to this day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_21st_century

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

takabin - made a very good point.

still lots of people love to live in the past, not now not future.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

I think the point of Korean protest is not explained in this article. If Koreans were forced to work there, it is what makes this mine unique and necessary to be added to the World Heritage list so more people will learn about these horrible times.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Yawn... Still crying "victim" and yet, they keep on brain washing their people into "Japan evil."

6 ( +13 / -7 )

While caring little about Korea's anti-Japanese groundless claims or political nitpicks, I am not sure if the UNESCO inscription will really benefit Japan, especially the designated Sado island.

Sado is one of very nice sightseeing spots in Japan. Having already great tourism potentials, the Island can be better off without the Japanese government and UNESCO backings. The UNESCO often speaks out and intervenes into local tourism policy while remaining stingy or non-committal to any financial support for heritage preservations. It's good time to review Japan's UNESCO-phile attitude (and financial contributions to the program as well).

It's not sensible to waste the valuable yet limited diplomatic resources in order to deal with disputes with South Korea. The bilateral relation is no longer a top priority for Japan though "Korea-school" career diplomats may get into troubles.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Yes, the U.S. has forgotten about dropping agent orange in Vietnam which damages the germ-line; therefore, you see many young people with no legs in Vietnam. The US has not faced up to the collateral damage of those of middle eastern blood and has not faced up to the injustice of slavery and the genocide of American Indians. European countries invaded much of Asia and Africa on the basis of manifest destiny. The treatment of Indians by Canada's religious institutions and the genocide of Australia against aboriginal people are not forgotten. The point is that almost all countries have done cruel things and some countries are currently still committing crimes using drones that kill innocent people in the middle east. South Korean massacres in Vietnam are also not forgotten. China's treatment of those of non-Han blood is a war crime. Japan has fully apologized many, many times for its mistake of following the west. Japan made a bad mistake and paid for it by the experimental A-bomb not dropped in Germany. I have a South Korean client that I introduced to a Japanese company and their product is awaiting regulatory clearance; they recognize how much I am working for them. One of my best friends is a Korean Japanese. I have dated a Korean person in my younger days. We cannot rely on governments and must develop better relations one-to-one. Good business relationships, good food, good drinks and being a good friend will overcome the acts of government. Japan is Japan and will conduct its business independently.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Authorative investigations have largely put to rest the claim that allied POWs were killed at Sado.

Most of the claims were based on the now heavily criticized book by James Mckay - Betrayal in High Places.

But the Aikawa mine was certainly a place of death and despair over the centuries.

Arguably 1,000s of Japanese prisoners died there in the 18th & 19th centuries.

And Korean forced labour was definitely used in the latter stages of the war. Historical Japanese documents testify to this. Mitsubishi company has also acknowledged such.

So if any presentation for World Heritage goes forth, then it needs to account for all of the history of the mine.

Cherry picking 1 era or mining methodologies as worthy without explaining the full history seems strange.

There is no shame in telling the full story.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Yes, South Korea you are always so right. Japan is a clear and present danger to you. It attacks you with world heritage nominations and other unforgivably vicious blows. Meanwhile, your friends in the north, literally shoot at you at any opportunity, unilaterally blow up jointly owned properties, and fire missiles over your territory regularly. Yep, your problem is Japan.

5 ( +13 / -8 )

South Koreans still abuse their victim status and indoctrinate their people to hate Japan from primary school. The hate mongering is so normalized that multiple people have set themselves on fire at protests.

12 ( +22 / -10 )

I think that the alleged massacre of allied POW's at the end of WW2 at this site really needs to be investigated further, before any UNESCO status is given.

-11 ( +11 / -22 )

agree with both above posters

-13 ( +12 / -25 )

It's not too late for Japan to withdraw its nomination, because being rejected at UNESCO review panel, the most likely outcome, is even more humiliating.

-10 ( +15 / -25 )

Korea can mitigate Japan's attempt at whitewashing the atrocities of war by creating war museums all around the world just like the holocaust museums and teaching the truth about nanjing massacre, unit 731, comfort women, slave labourers etc. Don't deal with these face saving people directly.

-13 ( +14 / -27 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites