Japanese cabinet approves nominating mines for UNESCO list, defying South Korea's protest

FILE PHOTO: Japan's new Chief of Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu announces new cabinet members at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan October 4, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet formally approved nominating several mines for consideration as world heritage sites by UNESCO, the government's top spokesperson said on Tuesday, defying objection from South Korea.

The government will submit the endorsement to the United Nations cultural organisation by 5 p.m. on Tuesday GMT to meet the deadline, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.

Seoul had objected to the move, saying it is inappropriate because Korean labourers were forced to work there during Japan's 1910-1945 colonisation of the Korean peninsula, including during World War Two.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)