This page surveys the publicly documented positions of key institutions involved in Hashima's heritage governance. These positions — drawn from official statements, UNESCO documents, media interviews, and published reports — reveal the interpretive frameworks and political dynamics that shape how the island's history is presented.

Learning context: This material is integrated into Module 07: Positions & Perspectives, which examines how these institutional dynamics shaped the HashimaXR project.

The 2015 UNESCO Statement

Official Statement · July 2015 · UNESCO World Heritage Committee

At the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Japan's delegation stated: "Japan is prepared to take measures that allow an understanding that there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites, and that, during World War II, the Government of Japan also implemented its policy of requisition."

Japan committed to "incorporate appropriate facilities to remember the victims" and to implement "interpretive strategy to remember the victims."

Industrial Heritage Information Center (IHIC)

Government Response · Opened March 2020 · Tokyo

Japan established the Industrial Heritage Information Center in Shinjuku, Tokyo, as its interpretive response to the 2015 commitment. The center presents testimonies from former island residents, documents about industrial development, and displays about daily life on Hashima.

Critics and the UNESCO monitoring mission have noted that the IHIC does not include testimony from Korean or Chinese forced laborers, does not display evidence of coercive recruitment, and presents accounts that describe harmonious community life without reference to the labor regime of the 1940s.

2021 Monitoring Mission Report

International Assessment · December 2021

A joint UNESCO/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission visited Japan in September 2021 to assess implementation of the 2015 commitments. The mission report concluded:

"The Mission Team could not identify any display panel, section, or element in IHIC that could be seen specifically to memorialize the victims of forced labor during WWII."

The mission found that interpretive materials "do not allow an understanding that there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions."

World Heritage Committee "Strong Regret"

Committee Decision · July 2021

The World Heritage Committee expressed "strong regret that the State Party has not yet fulfilled its commitment" and urged Japan to "give due effect to the interpretive measures it committed to implement."

This language — "strong regret" — is notably critical by UNESCO diplomatic standards, where inscribed sites are rarely subject to such direct censure.

Objection to UNESCO Inscription

Diplomatic Position · 2015

South Korea objected to Japan's Meiji Industrial Sites nomination on the grounds that several component sites, including Hashima, were locations of wartime forced labor of Korean nationals. Korea sought an explicit acknowledgment of this history as a condition of not blocking inscription.

Following Japan's 2015 statement, Korea has continued to monitor implementation of the interpretive commitments, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issuing periodic statements expressing concern that commitments remain unfulfilled. In July 2021, the Ministry issued a statement following the World Heritage Committee decision, noting that "the international community explicitly confirmed that Japan has not yet implemented the Committee's recommendations."

Ongoing UNESCO Engagement

Diplomatic Monitoring · 2021–Present

South Korea was elected to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in November 2023 for a four-year term through 2027. At the 47th session in July 2025, Korea proposed including Japan's implementation failure on the agenda, but Japan's amendment to exclude discussion passed by a vote of 7–3. Korea's representative stated: "The materials on display still failed to reflect the experiences of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s. This is not a minor omission — it silences the lived realities that official narratives too often exclude."

Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan

Government-Affiliated Organization · Established 2014

South Korea has supported research and documentation of forced labor history through the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan (일제강제동원피해자지원재단), established under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The Foundation implements memorial projects, supports the discovery and repatriation of victims' remains, and conducts research relating to forced mobilization. It was designated in 2023 as the entity to administer compensation payments following Supreme Court rulings ordering Japanese companies to pay reparations to forced labor victims.

Scholarly Perspectives

Critical analyses of Hashima's heritage governance — including heritage studies frameworks, peer-reviewed research, and theoretical perspectives — are documented on a separate page.

→ View Scholarly Perspectives