Tokyo: According to local media reports, the Japanese Cabinet approved a proposal on Tuesday to have a former gold mine linked to forced labour during WWII added to the Unesco World Heritage list.
According to a report by the Kyodo News agency, the diplomatically contentious bid was authorised in a Cabinet meeting. Later in the day, Tokyo intends to present a letter of recommendation to the Unesco World Heritage Centre.
Despite South Korea's strong opposition, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on January 27 that the mine on Sado Island would be nominated for the Unesco heritage list in 2023.
The South Korean government quickly expressed "deep disappointment" for the decision and dispatched Koichi Aiboshi, its Ambassador to Seoul, to protest. At the mine on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, about a thousand Koreans were forced to work at the mine.
The action is likely to exacerbate diplomatic tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over their shared past. Many South Koreans believe Japan has yet to properly apologise for its atrocities committed during its colonialism of Korea from 1910 to 1945 and compensate victims.
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