A memorial ceremony has been held to honor all those who worked at Japanese gold mines on Niigata Prefecture's Sado Island.

The event took place in Sado City on Sunday. Seventy people attended, including Niigata Governor Hanazumi Hideyo and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ikuina Akiko.

The Sado Island Gold Mines gained UNESCO World Heritage status in July.

Nakano Ko, a civic group representative, spoke on behalf of the event's organizers. He acknowledged that the hardships faced by all the Sado mine workers led to the site's World Heritage listing, and expressed condolences for those who died there.

Ikuina noted that mine workers included many people from the Korean Peninsula who came to work in Japan under the country's wartime policy, and that some of them had lost their lives.

She said now that the gold mines have gained World Heritage status, Japan should renew its pledge to pass on the legacy to future generations.

Ikuina expressed her heartfelt respect for the workers' efforts and offered condolences to all of those who perished.

Ceremony participants laid chrysanthemums in memory of the dead.

A South Korean representative and relatives of the deceased miners from that country had been scheduled to join, but did not attend.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry cited difficulty for the two countries to work out their differences and reach an acceptable agreement because of insufficient time before the event.

Sado City Mayor Watanabe Ryugo expressed regret to reporters after the ceremony that the South Korean side did not take part.

The mayor said the organizers would likely hold events in future years, and that the city would do its part to contribute.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that its government will hold its own memorial ceremony in Sado on Monday.

South Korean media have reported that Seoul's decision to not attend Sunday's ceremony came after Tokyo said Ikuina would attend as the government representative.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said it was its understanding that Ikuina visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on August 15, 2022 after winning the Upper House election in July.

Japanese Foreign Ministry sources quote Ikuina as saying that she never visited Yasukuni Shrine after winning the election.

Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's war dead. Chinese and South Korean leaders have criticized their Japanese counterparts for visiting the shrine. They are angry that those remembered there include military and political leaders convicted of war crimes after World War Two.