Japan's Sado mines included in UNESCO World Heritage List

Sado gold and silver mines in Japan added to UNESCO World Heritage List after South Korea's objections dropped.

A network of mines on a Japanese island infamous for using conscripted wartime labour was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List on July 27 after South Korea dropped earlier objections to its listing.

The Sado gold and silver mines, now a popular tourist attraction, are believed to have started operating as early as the 12th century and produced until after World War II.

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Japan had put a case for World Heritage listing because of their lengthy history and the artisanal mining techniques used there at a time when European mines had turned to mechanisation.

The proposal was opposed by Seoul when it was first put because of the use of involuntary Korean labour during World War II, when Japan occupied the Korean peninsula.

UNESCO confirmed the listing of the mines at its ongoing committee meeting in New Delhi on July 27 after a bid highlighting its archaeological preservation of "mining activities and social and labour organisation".

"I would like to wholeheartedly welcome the inscription... and pay sincere tribute to the long-standing efforts of the local people which made this possible," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said in a statement.