“The hardships of workers on the Korean Peninsula” were acknowledged, but
We need to show a more forward-looking attitude toward past history.
A memorial ceremony was held yesterday to honor the sacrificed workers at the Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, the site of forced labor for Koreans during the Japanese colonial period. With the listing of Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was scheduled to be held jointly by both countries, including Korean bereaved families, but after controversy, it ended up being a half-event with only the Japanese side participating. The fact that South Korea decided at the last minute not to participate and to hold its own memorial service was largely due to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ lax perception of reality and response. It is time to reflect on whether they were trying to rely only on Japan’s goodwill due to the series of improvements in Korea-Japan relations that began last year and continue to continue.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was aware that Akiko Ikuina, Minister of Political Affairs (Vice Minister level), representing the Japanese government, would attend the memorial service. However, I missed the fact that he had a history of visiting Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals from the Pacific War are enshrined. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was planning to hold a media briefing on the Sado Mine memorial ceremony the other day, but canceled it five minutes before as controversy arose surrounding Political Secretary Ikuina Ikuina’s past actions and perception of history, which is truly pathetic. It is also unconvincing that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to bear the cost of attending the memorial ceremony for Korean bereaved families officially invited by Japan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not seem to have learned any lessons from being stabbed in the back by Japan when the Battleship Island was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The voices of the people who had called for a sophisticated response to Japan’s actions in the past have ended up being ‘worn in obscurity’.
In his memorial address, Political Affairs Officer Ikuina comforted the workers by saying, “The workers from the Korean Peninsula worked hard in dangerous and harsh environments.” However, the background to why they were mobilized for forced labor was vague, saying, “It was based on our country’s policy on workers during the war in the 1940s.” This can be interpreted as meaning that it was inevitable for victory in the Pacific War. We cannot help but point out that this is an inadequate attitude considering the purpose of the Japanese government’s previous promise to UNESCO when promoting the listing of the Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, “We will jointly hold a memorial ceremony for the victims with Korea at the Sado Mine every year.” .
Next year is a meaningful year as it marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. The Yoon Seok-yeol government has been doing its best to improve relations between the two countries, including offering third-party reimbursement as a measure to relieve victims of forced conscription during the Japanese colonial period. At the same time, we hoped that Japan would fill the ‘leftover half of the glass’, but the reality is that Japan’s attitude still falls short of our expectations. I hope the Japanese government will keep in mind that a forward-looking attitude toward past issues is essential for the two countries to establish a truly future-oriented relationship.
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