뉴스레터

The Unsmooth Opening Process of Japan's Industrial Heritage Information Center

Japan opened Industrial Heritage Information Center in Shinjuku, Tokyo on March 31, 2020. The center has been noted for its proper acceptance and exhibition of the recommendations of the orld Heritage Committee since the Japanese industrial facilities during the Meiji period were listed as World Heritage in 2015. At that time, the World Heritage Committee acknowledged that Koreans were forced to mobilize in these industrial facilities and demanded that such facts be clearly described. Japan's chief delegate, Sato Kuni, had also promised.

However, at the end of March, the Industrial Heritage Information Center was opened only nominally, and was not open to the public. The Japanese government closed the door at the same time as it opened in the situation that the disclosure was suspended because of the spread of the COVID-19 infection. There was growing concern that the center would be made in Tokyo, which is far from the industrial facilities involved, and that the contents of the exhibition would be different from the promises made with the international community. There was also suspicion that there might be other reasons for closing. Then it was decided to open to the public on June 15. However, it operated as a reservation system, and there was a clue that it should be booked at least three days ago. What was on display in the closed center?

The Industrial Heritage Information Center, 

which was established in the General Affairs Department of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.

 On June 15, the first day of the public release, the door is firmly closed. ⓒYonhap News

Substance and Problems of Industrial Heritage Information Center

NAHF's Institute on Korea-Japan Historical Issues held an expert seminar on June 19, shortly after the Japanese government's Industrial Heritage Information Center was unveiled, to review the exhibitions of the center and to find countermeasures. The seminar was designed to listen to the voices of Korea and Japan. However, considering COVID-19, attendees in Japan participated in the meeting through the online video conference platform. Finally, the substance of the Industrial Heritage Information Center was revealed.

In this seminar, Kim Min-cheol, a researcher at ‘The Center for Historical Truth and Justice’, and Kim Cheong-jung, a correspondent for The Segye Times, who was dispatched to Japan, presented his opinions as a Korean expert. And the Japanese side dispatched a presenter from ‘The Network to Investigate the Truth of Forced Mobilization’. The presenters were Mitsunobu Nakata, secretary general, and Hisatomo Kobayashi.

Kim Min-cheol, a researcher, announced the follow-up measures and implementation of Japan after the facility was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2015. In particular, he pointed out the problems and limitations of the preservation situation report on submitted by the Japanese government to the UNESCO World Heritage Center in November 2017. Above all, he questioned the fact that the Japanese government never “conversed” with the victims of forced mobilization in Korea and China. And he said this was an act of ignoring the resolution of the World Heritage Committee. Furthermore, he suggested that the Korean and Japanese governments should organize a joint research team on forced labor together to make it a 'joint memory and heritage'.

The second presenter, Kim Cheong-jung, attended the meeting through a remote platform in Tokyo. Kim Cheong-jung, a correspondent, was invited to the Media Watch on June 14, the day before the Industrial Heritage Information Center was released to the public, so he could visit the inside of the center. He gave details of the facility status of the center, the composition of the exhibition hall, and the contents of the exhibition. According to him, the Industrial Heritage Information Center is divided into three zones, consisting of the following: Zone(1) Introduction to 23 sites listed as World Heritage Sites, Zone(2) History of Industrial Development in Japan, Zone(3) Data that distorts and denies the damage of 'forced labor'. In short, the Industrial Heritage Information Center did not comply with the recommendation of the World Heritage Committee, and it was only a space that illuminated its industrial development.

The third presenter, Hisatomo Kobayashi, revealed the problems of the Industrial Heritage Information Center through the organization and activities of ‘The Truth of Gunkanjima’, a government-organized NGO of the Abe regime. ‘The Truth of Gunkanjima’ has been receiving a huge government grant since its establishment in 2013. In particular, Kyoko Kato, managing director of the NGO, served as a prime minister's advisor to Abe's Cabinet from 2015 to 2017, and was in charge of registration and tourism promotion of industrial heritage. For that reason, the person was named as the first director of the Industrial Heritage Information Center. What is noteworthy is that ‘The Truth of Gunkanjima’ has consistently written reports denying the damage of forced mobilization. In the end, the exhibition contents of the Industrial Heritage Information Center are based on the distorted historical perspective of ‘The Truth of Gunkanjima’.

The final presentation was made by Mitsunobu Nakata, the secretary general of ‘The Network to Investigate the Truth of Forced Mobilization’. Nakata summarized the activities of ‘The Network to Investigate the Truth of Forced Mobilization’ in response to the Japanese government's policy related to industrial heritage in the Meiji era and pointed out the problems of the 2019 preservation situation report.

We expect reasonable judgment of World Heritage Committee

This expert seminar was a place to look at the problems caused by the World Heritage List of industrial facilities in the Meiji era and how civil society in Korea and Japan has responded. NAHF has already pointed out the problem through a statement when Japan's Industrial Heritage Information Center opens. In addition, NAHF’s the expert seminar also demanded the Japanese government's responsible attitude. Furthermore, we will try to make sure that the World Heritage Committee is correcting the Japanese government's attempt to cover the sky with its hand. In other words, we will concentrate on NAHF's research capabilities to reveal more detail that the Industrial Heritage Information Center distorted the truth, accumulate countermeasures with academic experts, and carry out various activities to convey these contents to citizens. To do this, we will actively cooperate with civil society in Korea and Japan.

The World Heritage Committee was scheduled to deliberate on the 2019 Preservation Situation Report submitted by the Japanese government in June this year. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, which is defined as pandemic, the committee was postponed to November. As the Industrial Heritage Information Center is open to the public and its substance is revealed, it is expected that the Japanese distorted historical perspective and the fact of forced mobilization will be reviewed comprehensively, including the problems revealed in the existing Preservation Situation Report.