are a group of historic sites that played an important part in the industrialization of Japan in the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods (1850s–1910), and are part of the industrial heritage of Japan. In 2009 the monuments were submitted jointly for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List under criteria ii, iii, and iv. The sites were accepted at the 39th UNESCO World Heritage session, under the condition 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 ...", and again, such measures have yet to be implemented.

Eight areas are registered, with twenty-three component sites:

Area 1: Hagi in Yamaguchi Hagi proto-industrial sites and Tokugawa period cultural setting; Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-001) Historic Site (ID1484-002) Historic Site (ID1484-003) Prefectural Historic Site (ID1484-004) Historic Site; Groups of Traditional Buildings (ID1484-005) run by Yoshida Shōin; Historic Site

Area 2: Kagoshima Shūseikan pioneering factory complex; Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-006) Historic Site Historic site erected in 1865; Important Cultural Property erected in 1867; Important Cultural Property (ID1484-007) constructed in 1858, Historic site (ID1484-008) constructed in 1852

Area 3: Nirayama in Shizuoka Nirayama proto-industrial reverberatory furnace; Izunokuni, Shizuoka Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-009) started construction in 1853, completed in 1855, Historic Site

Area 4: Kamaishi in Iwate Hashino iron mining and smelting site; Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-010) influenced Yawata (see below); Historic Site

Area 5: Saga Mietsu shipyard; Saga, Saga Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-011) constructed in 1858, Historic Site

Area 6: Nagasaki Nagasaki shipyard facilities, coal mining islands and associated sites; Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-012) completed in 1868, Historic Site (ID1484-013) completed in 1905 (ID1484-014) completed in 1904 (ID1484-015) set up in 1909 (ID1484-016) completed in 1898 (ID1484-017) started excavation in 1868, Municipal and Historic Site (ID1484-018) started excavation in 1870, Historic Site (ID1484-019) erected in 1863; Important Cultural Property

Area 7: Miike in Fukuoka and Kumamoto Miike coal mines, railway and ports; Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Arao and Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-020) no.1 pit completed in 1898, no.2 pit completed in 1901, Important Cultural Property no.1 pit completed in 1902, no.2 pit completed in 1908, Important Cultural Property opened in 1891, extended to Miike Port in 1905, Important Cultural Property opened in 1887, Important Cultural Property, Important cultural landscape (ID1484-021) constructed in 1887, Important Cultural Property

Area 8: Yahata in Fukuoka Yawata steel works; Kitakyūshū and Nakama, Fukuoka Prefecture:

Site Comments Image (ID1484-022) establishing political decision was made in 1897, started operation in 1901, "Heritage of Industrial Modernization" by METI. constructed in 1899 constructed in 1900, the oldest steel structure in Japan, still under operation. constructed in 1900 (ID1484-023) constructed in 1910, still under operation.

Controversy

The inclusion of some of these properties as UNESCO Heritage sites raised concerns and objections from South Korea, on the grounds that conscripted Korean civilians and Chinese prisoners-of-war were forced to work under harsh conditions at seven of these sites during Japan's World War II mobilization policies. There is a research questioning about Japanese government's compliance with UNESCO regulations and requirements with respect to Hashima Coal Mine site.

Although the period at which forced labour took place does not coincide with the period of Meiji industrial revolution, the criticism arose based on the view that the Meiji industrial revolution was "inseparable from 20th-century empire-building, which led inexorably to Japanese colonialism and the Asia-Pacific War". South Korea claimed that the official recognition of those sites would "violate the dignity of the survivors of forced labor as well as the spirit and principles of the UNESCO Convention", and "World Heritage sites should be of outstanding universal value and be acceptable by all peoples across the globe." China also released a similar statement that "World Heritage application should live up to the principle and spirit of promoting peace as upheld by UNESCO."

See also World Heritage Sites in Japan Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

References

External links UNESCO Tentative List entry The Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Emergence of Industrial Japan: Kyushu and Yamaguchi The Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Industrial Heritage Information Center