Japanese lawmakers tour Sado mine in push for UNESCO bid
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said Saturday that 20 lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party toured the mining facility on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after the visit, former foreign minister Hirofumi Nakasone said it's an astonishing feat to produce quality gold for such a long period by relying on only traditional skills. He expressed hope that Japan's bid to list Sado mine as a UNESCO world heritage site will be successful.
The Tokyo government formally recommended the mine as a candidate for world heritage designation in February, prompting South Korea's protest.
Over a thousand Koreans are believed to have been forced into labor at the gold mine, which shifted to producing war materials such as copper, iron and zinc during the Pacific War.
When recommending the site for heritage listing, Japan left out that part of history linked to wartime forced labor.

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cbsnews.com - May 21
The glorious ancient monuments, Zen temples and soaring pagodas of Kyoto have made it a major tourist draw for decades.

NHK - May 20
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Nikkei - May 20
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NHK - May 19
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newsonjapan.com - May 17
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Kyodok - May 17
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asiasentinel.com - May 16
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NHK - May 15
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NHK - May 14
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Jiji - May 14
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Reuters - May 13
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NHK - May 13
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yahoo.com - May 11
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arabnews.com - May 10
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koreaherald.com - May 09
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