Korea loses Unesco vote to add Japan's Hashima Island to World Heritage Committee's agenda

Korea lost a Unesco vote to add Japan's Hashima Island issue to the agenda, failing to hold Japan accountable for its historic labor practices, thereby potentially straining bilateral relations amid ongoing tensions.

Hashima Island, also known as the Battleship Island [YONHAP]

For the first time ever, Korea and Japan faced off in a vote at an international forum — the Unesco World Heritage Committee — over the issue of Japan's failure to acknowledge the history of forced labor at its modern industrial sites, including Hashima Island, also known as Battleship Island.

Korea failed to secure enough votes to have the issue formally added to the committee's agenda, losing a rare opportunity to hold Japan accountable on the global stage. The result may reignite longstanding tensions over historical disputes.

At the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Paris on Monday, Korea pushed to place the issue of Hashima Island on the formal agenda, but Japan opposed the move until the end, ultimately forcing a vote. Korea aimed to spotlight Japan’s failure to fulfill its 2015 commitment — made when the site was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site — to fully present the history of forced labor by Koreans on the island.

In the vote, a majority of seven out of 21 member states supported Japan’s revised proposal to exclude the item from the agenda. Three countries opposed it, eight abstained, and three votes were invalid. Both Korea and Japan participated in the secret ballot.

Initially, the Hashima issue was only included as a tentative agenda item. Korea argued that a review of Japan’s “interpretation strategy implementation” regarding the site should be adopted as a formal agenda item at this year’s session. However, formal adoption requires consensus — unanimous agreement by all 21 committee members without a vote. Japan’s opposition made consensus impossible, pushing the matter to a vote.

“Japan is not complying with the committee’s decision to present the full history," said an official from the Unesco Cooperation Task Force at Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Exhibits at the Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo fail to adequately reflect the history of forced labor endured by many Koreans against their will. This is not a minor omission.”

The 47th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Paris on July 7 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

In response, the Japanese delegation insisted that Japan was “faithfully implementing” the follow-up measures and argued that the issue had already been settled. They emphasized that Unesco's 2023 decision only required the submission of an “update report,” not a “state of conservation report,” which would have automatically placed the matter on the formal agenda. Japan also claimed the issue would be best resolved bilaterally, outside the Unesco framework.

The two sides remained locked in a tense back-and-forth throughout the session. Japan even revised Korea’s proposed amendment and submitted a new one, which was ultimately brought to a vote and passed. It was the first time in Unesco history that an agenda-setting issue went to a vote, prompting other delegations — including Greece’s — to call for a recess and urge consensus until the very end.

Japan has failed to fulfill the pledge it made in July 2015 to present the full history of its World Heritage sites, including the forced labor of Koreans on Hashima Island.

Rather than setting up the information center in Nagasaki — where the island is located — Japan built it in Tokyo. The center displays content that distorts historical facts and fails to explain the coercive nature of the labor clearly. The committee adopted decisions in 2018, 2021 and 2023 urging Japan to follow through on its commitments, even expressing “strong regret” in the 2021 decision.

Losing the vote meant Korea lost a rare chance to highlight Japan’s failure to honor its promise. Some voiced concern that Korea appeared to be overreaching by forcing a vote without a guaranteed majority — a move seen as risky. Within the government, many had supported a vote based on the belief that there was enough support to win.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in their first bilateral talks on the margins of the Group of 7 summit in Calgary, Canada, on June 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The outcome has sparked criticism of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s diplomatic approach in its first major foreign policy clash with Japan. The vote also drew attention because it occurred despite President Lee's stated commitment to improving relations between Korea and Japan.

A Foreign Ministry official said shortly after the vote, “Many committee members expressed agreement with Korea’s principle that Japan’s implementation should be reviewed by the committee,” but added, “We regret that we ultimately did not secure the votes needed to place the matter on the agenda.”

President Lee, in his first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on June 17, refrained from mentioning historical issues and instead said, “I hope that Korea and Japan will move beyond their differences and develop a mutually beneficial relationship through cooperation in various areas.”

The statement signaled an intent to prevent historical disputes from obstructing future-oriented cooperation.

However, with the issue resurfacing annually as a recurring diplomatic setback and the latest defeat in the vote, concerns are mounting that historical tensions could once again strain bilateral ties. Ten years after Hashima Island was designated a World Heritage site, Japan still has not fulfilled its follow-up commitments, and Unesco has repeatedly become the battleground for these unresolved disputes.

Criticism is also growing that Japan has continued to break its post-listing promises. When Sado Mine was listed as a World Heritage site in July 2023, Japan received Korea’s support in the vote, but later excluded any mention of forced labor from its exhibits and held a hollow memorial ceremony with no formal tribute, further deepening the mistrust.

The presidential office stated on Tuesday that regarding Seoul’s thwarted bid, it “regrets that the agenda related to modern industrial sites was not adopted as an official agenda."

The office added, “Our government's position is that Japan must faithfully implement the promises it made regarding the modern industrial sites and the decision of the World Heritage Committee regarding this," and said it would “continue to raise this issue at the Unesco World Heritage Committee in the future."

Update July 8 : Presidential office's statement added.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY PARK HYUN-JU [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]