Sado Kinzan (Sado gold mine) — Attraction in Sado

The core of the issue is Japan's failure to honor the public promise it made upon the 2015 UNESCO World Heritage inscription of its "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution." The Promise (2015) In 2015, when Japan applied to have 23 of its modern industrial facilities, including Hashima Island (commonly known as "Battleship Island"), listed as World Heritage Sites, it faced strong opposition. The South Korean government highlighted the painful history of Korean forced labor at seven of these sites. Facing international criticism, the Japanese representative at the UNESCO meeting made a public statement to the international community, promising to take measures to allow an understanding that "a large number of Koreans and others were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites." Japan also pledged to establish an information center to commemorate the victims. The World Heritage inscription was approved on the condition of this promise. Breach of Promise and Historical Distortion However, Japan has not fulfilled this commitment. Distorted Information Center: In 2020, the Japanese government opened the "Industrial Heritage Information Centre" in Tokyo. Contrary to its purpose, the center does not tell the story of forced labor. Instead, it exclusively glorifies the industrial achievements of the Meiji era. More critically, it displays testimonies and materials that effectively deny that forced labor occurred, directly violating the promise to honor the victims and representing a serious distortion of history. Absence of On-Site Information: At the actual heritage sites, including Battleship Island, there are no signs, memorials, or explanations acknowledging the history of forced labor. Visitors are presented only with a narrative of Japan's industrial prowess, leaving them completely unaware of the tragic human rights abuses and forced mobilization that formed the dark side of that history. International Criticism In response, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee adopted resolutions in both 2021 and 2023 expressing its "strong regret" over Japan's failure to implement its promise. The Committee has repeatedly called on Japan to faithfully fulfill its commitment to commemorating the victims and to present a balanced and comprehensive history. Despite this, Japan has yet to take any meaningful action. In conclusion, Japan made a solemn promise to the international community to acknowledge its history of forced labor in order to secure a prestigious diplomatic achievement. However, once the sites were inscribed, it reneged on that promise and is now actively promoting a distorted version of history. This has drawn criticism for undermining the authority and spirit of UNESCO and for being an unethical stance that disregards the suffering of...

I was very pleased by the visit, however only next day I learned a very important historical context that was never mentioned there. This helped to be mindful of the untold past of this mine: “During World War II, the island was the site of forced labor. Around 1,500 Korean laborers were conscripted to work in difficult and inferior conditions in mines on the island. The Japanese government and some Japanese scholars have denied that they were forced to work. In 2022, Japan filed to add the mines of the island to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, which sparked international and domestic criticism, particularly from South Korea. … In 2024, the Sado Island Gold Mines were registered as a World Heritage Site. South Korea requested that Japan mention forced labor in the exhibit, and Japan rejected this...

A gold mine with a lot of history to escape the summer heat.

Inside the mine feels like around 16 degrees, slightly colder than in an air con environment.

There are many mannequin robots inside that illustrates the time when miners are still mining for gold in this mine. It show cases the equipment and process that they use to get the gold from deep underground.

The are 2 routes, the Sodayu right route is about 400m and the Doyu left route is about 1.5km. At the end of both route is a museum and souvenir shop where there is a real gold bar for visitors to try lift it up.

The souvenirs are mainly packaged in gold themed packaging and there is also a shop beside that sells ice cream with gold flakes.

It was an interesting experience, I find that the museum was less crowded during lunch time (12pm -...