Japanese officials have held a memorial ceremony near the Sado Island Gold Mines, listed in July as a UNESCO World Heritage site after Japan moved past years of historical disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history.

Japan will go ahead with a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines, despite South Korea’s last-minute boycott of the event that highlighted tensions between the neighbors over the issue of Korean forced laborers at the site before and during World War II.

South Korea’s decision not to participate in what was envisioned an a moment of reconciliation highlighted the perceived lack of sincerity in Japan’s treatment of historical issues.