Photo/Illutration A part of the remains of the Aikawa gold and silver mine in Sado, Niigata Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A UNESCO advisory body stopped short of recommending listing gold and silver mines on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture as a World Heritage site and requested additional information.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs announced on June 6 that the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) made the “referral” recommendation--its second-highest recommendation for a World Heritage  candidate after “inscription”--for the mine complex. 

ICOMOS asked Japan to remove areas that were largely developed during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and onward from the proposed Sado Island Gold Mines site, which was one of the world's leading gold production centers in the 17th century, agency officials said.

It also asked that explanations and exhibits covering the mines’ entire history, including the Meiji Era and onward, be provided at the site, the officials said.

While an inscription recommendation almost guarantees registration as a World Heritage site at a World Heritage Committee meeting that year, a referral recommendation means that the candidate site will be discussed, in principle, the following year or later. 

However, such candidates are often registered as World Heritage sites in the same year, since referrals indicate that ICOMOS recognizes their value as World Heritage sites.

The mines could be added to the World Cultural Heritage list after being discussed at the World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, which starts on July 21, sources said.

The complex consists of the Aikawa-Tsurushi gold and silver mines (the Aikawa gold and silver mines and the Tsurushi silver mine) and the Nishi-Mikawa placer gold mine.

Traditional manual systems were used in these mines to produce high-purity gold from the 16th to 19th centuries, while mining methods became mechanized in other parts of the world.

The Aikawa gold and silver mines were the largest in Japan, with tunnels stretching 400 kilometers.

In addition to tunnels and drainage channels, the remains of mining settlements and the magistrate’s office, which formed part of the gold production system, have been kept in good condition.

During World War II, laborers from the Korean Peninsula were mobilized to work in the mines on Sado Island.

When the Council for Cultural Affairs selected the site as a candidate for government nomination in 2021, the South Korean government objected, noting the mines’ history of "forced labor."

Although the Japanese government considered forgoing a nomination, some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were opposed and the government eventually nominated the mines for inclusion as a World Heritage site in 2022.

After UNESCO pointed out problems with documentation, the government submitted a revised nomination document in January 2023.

Japan currently hosts 20 World Cultural Heritage sites and five World Natural Heritage sites.

 

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