<Anchor>



The warship island of Nagasaki Prefecture, where many Koreans were forced to work during the Japanese colonial period, was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2015. At the time, Japan had promised to properly inform the victims of forced labor, but UNESCO is planning to express exceptionally strong regret to Japan, saying that the promise has not been kept for several years.



This is Tokyo correspondent Yoo Seong-jae.



<Reporter>



In 2015, Japan made this promise in 2015, when industrial facilities for forced mobilization by Japan, such as warship islands, were designated as World Heritage Sites.



[Sato/Japanese Ambassador to UNESCO (2015): I will help you understand that many Koreans were forced to work in harsh conditions against their will.] The



Japanese government exhibited relevant information at the Industrial Heritage Information Center opened last year

.

They pretended to keep their promise, but the UNESCO World Heritage Committee formed a joint investigation team last month to inspect the site, and the results were different.



In the report, the investigation team pointed out that there were insufficient exhibitions to inform the fact that Koreans were forced to work in the 1940s, and there were no exhibitions to commemorate the victims.



Based on this report, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to adopt a decision at its 44th meeting, which will begin on the 16th, to express its strong regret to Japan and to request the fulfillment of its promises.



An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is very unusual for an international organization to use the expression 'strongly regrettable' in an official text, saying that the international community has explicitly confirmed Japan's failure to fulfill its promises.



The Japanese government has yet to respond, but it is expected to feel considerable pressure as it has to submit supplementary measures to UNESCO by December next year.



(Video coverage: Cheol-min Han, Hyun-jin Moon, video editing: Mira Yu)