Japan holds Sado mines memorial despite South Korean boycott amid lingering historical tensions

Japan holds memorial ceremony despite South Korea boycott, highlighting tensions over Korean forced laborers at Sado Island Gold Mines.

Japan held a memorial ceremony on Sunday (November 24, 2024) near the Sado Island Gold Mines despite a last-minute boycott of the event by South Korea that highlighted tensions between the neighbours over the issue of Korean forced labourers at the site before and during World War II.

South Korea's absence at Sunday's (November 24, 2024) memorial, to which Seoul government officials and Korean victims' families were invited, is a major setback in the rapidly improving ties between the two countries, which since last year have set aside their historical disputes to prioritise U.S.-led security cooperation.

Watch | Why are Japan and South Korea in dispute over ancient mines?

The Sado mines were listed in July as a UNESCO World Heritage site after Japan moved past years of disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history, promising to hold an annual memorial service for all victims, including hundreds of Koreans who were mobilised to work in the mines.

On Saturday (November 23, 2024), South Korea announced it would not attend the event, saying it was impossible to settle unspecified disagreements between the two governments in time. Families of Korean victims of the mine accidents were expected to separately hold their own ceremony near the mine at a later date.

Masashi Mizobuchi, an assistant press secretary in Japan's Foreign Ministry, said Japan has been in communication with Seoul and called the South Korean decision “disappointing.” The ceremony was held as planned on Sunday (November 24, 2024) at a facility near the mines, where more than 20 seats for Korean attendees remained vacant.

The 16th-century mines on the island of Sado, off Japan's north-central coast, operated for nearly 400 years before closing in 1989 and were once the world's largest gold producer.