Japan is pushing to have the Ashio Copper Mine in Tochigi Prefecture inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The news came on September 24, 2026. VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea), a civilian cyber diplomacy group, responded to the bid by urging Japan to "fully reflect the history of forced mobilization."
The mine is located in the Ashio area of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. It is land where copper was once mined. Near the main gate of the mine there is now a promotional message saying the site aims for World Heritage inscription. A reporter who visited the site reported finding no traces related to forced mobilization there.
Before Ashio, Japan also sought World Heritage inscription for the Sado mine. The question of how the history of forced mobilization would be reflected has come up at Ashio as well.
Preservation and use want different things from the same place. Use selects the stories that will draw people in. World Heritage inscription elevates the stories selected in this way into a shared record of humanity.
The goal displayed in the promotional message at Ashio's main gate is also World Heritage inscription. VANK's demand asks whose labor should be included in that record.
VANK says the Ashio mine has not yet been placed on Japan's official World Heritage Tentative List. If so, the nomination documents have not yet been put together. This is when there is the most room to correct the record.
The message at the main gate of the Ashio mine states that World Heritage inscription is its goal. VANK is demanding that the history of forced mobilization be fully reflected as the inscription bid moves forward.
