Il, Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony Not in Korea 'Confused'... 'Very Regretful'

As the South Korean government decided not to attend the "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony," embarrassment spread within the Japanese government and local communities, the Asahi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun reported.

Although the Japanese government has not officially expressed regret over South Korea's decision, there have been voices of discouragement within the government, according to Japanese media.

According to the Asahi Shimbun, an official at Japan's Foreign Ministry said, "The Japanese side has responded wholeheartedly."An official from the Niigata prefectural civic group

also expressed regret and said he had tried to eulogize with the South Korean side.

Japanese media pointed out that Akiko Ikuina, a vice minister-level official attending on behalf of the government, did not attend the Yasukuni Shrine, which was joined by Class A war criminals in the Pacific War.

The South Korean government was scheduled to participate in the Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, the site of forced labor for Koreans in Japanese colonial era, but declared its absence the day before because it lacked sincerity in the Japanese government's response.

Asahi said, "We had difficulty coordinating with South Korea, which demanded more than a political officer over the attendees, until just before the meeting." Japan eventually decided to attend Ikuina, a political officer in charge of Asia and the Pacific countries, in response to South Korea's request.

Kyodo News reported that an official at the Foreign Ministry complained that "South Korea is overreacting to domestic public opinion."

Sankei analyzed, "The Yoon Suk Yeol regime has maintained a stance of emphasizing cooperation with Japan, but it seems to have been caught up by public opinion in Korea over historical issues."

However, a member of the Sado city criticized the Japanese government, saying, "It may be the result of the Japanese government's lack of sincerity," according to Kyodo News.

Meanwhile, a Japanese government official said, "The two countries should not make concessions to each other for a long time," indicating that Korea-Japan relations should continue to improve.

Sankei said, "The Korean government's response can be said to be a step toward improving relations between Korea and Japan ahead of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, but some within the Japanese government expect it to calm down early."

Kyodo News reported that a South Korean foreign ministry official also left room to attend the memorial service after next year, saying, "We will continue to communicate with the Japanese government for a sincere memorial service."