A memorial ceremony was held in Sado Sunday afternoon for Korean laborers who were conscripted to the Japanese city of Sadu in Niigata Prefecture during the Second World War. South Korea’s foreign ministry said Sunday it would not take part in the event, citing Japanese visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies the war of aggression, Yonhap news agency reported. A memorial service will be held near Jinshan District, Sado, Tuesday, the South Korean government said.
Japan, 24, held a memorial ceremony for wartime forced labor, for South Korean guests to reserve an empty seat.
According to the Yonhap news agency, according to the original plan, the event was attended by the South Korean survivors, South Korean and Japanese government officials, after the South Korean foreign ministry announced its absence, the memorial ceremony was attended by only Japanese people, they include Minister for Foreign Affairs officials such as administrative officer (vice-minister level) , Huang Huangzi, Governor of Niigata Prefecture, Ying Shi Hua Jiao, mayor of Sado, Watanabe Lung-wu, and people related to non-governmental organizations.
According to analysis, the reason for the South Korean side’s decision to abstain from the event is that Huang Zi, a raw rice, visited the Yasukuni shrine on August 15,2022. Prior to the South Korean side has raised the opinion that raw rice waggons to attend the event inappropriate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced on the 22nd that the rice waggons would attend the event. At that time, the South Korean foreign ministry said that the Japanese side arranged vice-minister-level officials to attend the event as requested by the South Korean side, which the South Korean side accepted.
The nine survivors of the South Korean workers have already arrived in Japan, south Korea announced on the 24th that it will arrange a memorial ceremony for the bereaved and Ambassador Park Hee on the morning of the 25th at the former site of the “Fourth Love Liao”, a Korean dormitory near Sado mine.
Located in Niigata Prefecture, Sado mine was a major gold miner during the Edo period. During the Second World War, when copper, iron and zinc were mined for war materials, many Korean residents were forcibly conscripted to work in harsh conditions and severe discrimination. More than 1,500 peninsula residents were forced to work in Jinshan District, Sado, according to statistics released by the Japanese history researcher Takeuchi.
In July, Jinshan District, Sado, was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s 46th World Heritage Conference. The Japanese government promised to hold a memorial ceremony for the victims of Korean forced labor, in order to obtain Korean consent.
Relations between South Korea and Japan appear to be moving forward beyond historical issues due to the decision of Yoon’s government, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.
From the solution to the forced labour issue to Sado Mine’s inclusion on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage List, South Korea has made concessions each time, expecting a Japanese response, but relations between the two countries are once again on shaky ground as Japan’s follow-up measures fall short of expectations. The memorial ceremony held on the 24th is one of the core measures that Japan promised to South Korea, which holds the right to vote, in order to put Mount Sado on the World Cultural Heritage List, but Japan’s lack of sincerity on issues such as government attendance and the eulogy led to a South Korean“Boycott” until the end.