Japan again stopped short of acknowledging the forced nature of Korean labor during a ceremony Saturday commemorating victims of a World War II-era mine complex in the country. The annual ceremony was first held in 2024 as a fulfillment of Japan's pledge when the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2024. Hamamoto Yukiya, director-general for cultural affairs at Japan's foreign ministry, attended the ceremony in his capacity as a government representative, along with about 70 other participants. "Workers from the Korean Peninsula engaged in arduous labor in dangerous and harsh conditions inside the mine during the war," Hamamoto was quoted as saying by Japan's Kyodo News. "Sadly, some people lost their lives here." However, his remarks were largely similar to those made at the two previous ceremonies and made no mention of the forced nature of Korean labor at the time. Korea boycotted the event for the third consecutive year, saying no agreement was reached with Japan on Seoul's demands that the ceremony acknowledge that Korean workers were