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Memorial for Sado mine forced workers

South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk gives a speech at a memorial ceremony on Sado Island in Japan's Niigata Prefecture on Nov. 21, 2025, to honor Koreans who were forced to work at a gold and silver mine there during World War II. The ceremony was organized by the South Korean government.

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Memorial for Sado mine forced workers

A memorial ceremony is held by the South Korean government on Sado Island in Japan's Niigata Prefecture on Nov. 21, 2025, to honor Koreans who were forced to work at a gold and silver mine there during World War II.

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Memorial for Sado mine forced workers

A memorial ceremony is held by the South Korean government on Sado Island in Japan's Niigata Prefecture on Nov. 21, 2025, to honor Koreans who were forced to work at a gold and silver mine there during World War II.

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Ex-abductee seeks early return of remaining abductees

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga (R) collects signatures in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 5, 2025, calling for new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi to pave the way for holding direct negotiations with North Korea to bring back all the remaining abductees, including her mother, to Japan. Soga, 66, returned from North Korea in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang.

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Ex-abductee seeks early return of remaining abductees

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga (R) collects signatures in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 5, 2025, calling for new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi to pave the way for holding direct negotiations with North Korea to bring back all the remaining abductees, including her mother, to Japan. Soga, 66, returned from North Korea in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang.

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Ex-abductee seeks early return of remaining abductees

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga (L) collects signatures in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 5, 2025, calling for new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi to pave the way for holding direct negotiations with North Korea to bring back all the remaining abductees, including her mother, to Japan. Soga, 66, returned from North Korea in 2002 following a Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang.

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Japanese ex-abductee Soga

Former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga speaks during an interview in her hometown Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 18, 2024. Soga, 65, was abducted to North Korea in 1978 before being repatriated in 2002.

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Petition to bring back those abducted to N. Korea

Hitomi Soga (far L), a Japanese woman who was abducted by North Korea in 1978 before being repatriated in 2002, collects signatures in Sado in Niigata Prefecture on Dec. 14, 2024, for a petition calling for the return of the remaining abductees, including her mother Miyoshi, who was kidnapped with her.

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Petition to bring back those abducted to N. Korea

Hitomi Soga (L), a Japanese woman who was abducted by North Korea in 1978 before being repatriated in 2002, collects signatures in Sado in Niigata Prefecture on Dec. 14, 2024, for a petition calling for the return of the remaining abductees, including her mother Miyoshi, who was kidnapped with her.

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UNESCO adds Japan's Sado mine site to World Heritage list+

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi (2nd from R) celebrates in New Delhi on July 27, 2024, after UNESCO decided earlier in the day to add a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island in the Japanese prefecture to its World Heritage list.

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UNESCO adds Japan's Sado mine site to World Heritage list+

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi (C) celebrates in New Delhi on July 27, 2024, after UNESCO decided earlier in the day to add a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island in the Japanese prefecture to its World Heritage list.

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Japanese crested ibis released on Sado Island

Crested ibis, designated as a special natural treasure in Japan, fly on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 4, 2024, when the Environment Ministry released 17 crested ibis, born in zoos in other parts of Japan, to increase their population in wilderness.

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Exhibition to promote Niigata Prefecture in Paris

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi speaks at a reception for an exhibition promoting the Japanese prefecture held at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on March 25, 2024. In 2023, Japan submitted a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island in the prefecture for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

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Exhibition to promote Niigata Prefecture in Paris

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi (L) talks about a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island at an exhibition promoting the Japanese prefecture held at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on March 25, 2024. In 2023, Japan submitted a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island in the prefecture for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

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Exhibition to promote Niigata Prefecture in Paris

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi (R) explains photo panels at an exhibition promoting the Japanese prefecture held at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on March 25, 2024. In 2023, Japan submitted a gold and silver mine complex on Sado Island in the prefecture for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

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Petition calling for return of N. Korea abductees

Hitomi Soga (R), a Japanese woman who was abducted to North Korea in 1978 before being repatriated in 2002, collects signatures in Sado in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on Aug. 18, 2023, for a petition calling for the return of the remaining abductees.

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Petition calling for return of N. Korea abductees

Hitomi Soga, a Japanese woman who was abducted to North Korea in 1978 before being repatriated in 2002, speaks to reporters in Sado in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on Aug. 18, 2023, at an event to collect signatures for a petition calling for the return of the remaining abductees.

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Soga joins campaign for prompt release of abduction victims

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga (L), who was abducted by North Korea in 1978 and returned to Japan in 2002, engages in a signature-collection campaign in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Aug. 22, 2014, to urge the North Korean government for the prompt release of other abductees.

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Ex-abductee calls for return of other abduction victims

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga (C), a Japanese national who was abducted by North Korea, asks people to sign a petition for the return of other abduction victims including her mother in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, in April 2014.

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Returned abductee Soga speaks in Sado

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga, a Japanese national abducted by North Korea, speaks in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on July 8, 2014, saying she hopes for the return of all abductees.

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Crested ibis flying over Sado Island

NIIGATA, Japan - A crested ibis, a special natural treasure in Japan, flies over Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, in September 2012.

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Returned abductee Soga meets lawmakers

NIIGATA, Japan - Hitomi Soga (C), one of Japanese nationals who were abducted to North Korea but returned home later, attends a meeting in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 21, 2014, with members of a House of Representatives special committee on the abduction issue.

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Conductor Sado

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado. Sado will be appointed musical director of Austria's Tonkunstler Orchestra for a three-year term from September 2015, his office said on Nov. 6, 2013.

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Man behind reintroduction of wild crested ibises

NIIGATA, Japan - Photo taken May 23, 2013 in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, shows Kei Osada, who has seen 12 chicks born in the wild leave their nests during his three-year stint as the person in charge of Japan's captive breeding program of the endangered crested ibis. Of the 12, eight chicks born in 2012 were the first wild crested ibises to leave their nests in as many as 38 years in Japan.

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Crested ibis chicks

NIIGATA, Japan - Photo taken on April 22, 2013, shows veterinarian Yoshinori Kaneko feeding the biggest of four crested ibis chicks born in the wild but being raised at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture.

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Crested ibis chicks

NIIGATA, Japan - Photo taken on April 22, 2013, shows the smallest of four crested ibis chicks born in the wild but being raised at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture.

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Boat adrift in Sea of Japan

TOKYO, Japan - A Nov. 29, 2012, file photo shows police officers examining a wooden boat that drifted ashore on Japan's Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. Japanese authorities suspect the vessel, which carried the bodies of five men, was a fishing boat from North Korea.

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5 bodies found in boat marked with Hangul characters

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in the city of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012, shows police officers examining a wooden boat that washed up on rocks by a beach on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. Five bodies were found in the morning of that day in the boat marked with Hangul characters.

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5 bodies found in boat marked with Hangul characters

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in the city of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012, shows police officers examining a wooden boat that washed up on rocks by a beach on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. Five bodies were found in the morning of that day in the boat marked with Hangul characters.

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5 bodies found in boat marked with Hangul characters

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in the city of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012, shows police officers examining a wooden boat that washed up on rocks by a beach on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. Five bodies were found in the morning of that day in the boat marked with Hangul characters.

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Repatriated abductee still awaiting mother's return from N. Korea

NIIGATA, Japan - Repatriated Japanese abduction victim Hitomi Soga collects donations in her hometown Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Oct. 7, 2012, for rescuing other abductees who may still be alive in North Korea, including her mother Miyoshi.

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Ex-abductee's husband

NIIGATA, Japan - Charles Jenkins, a former U.S. deserter who married Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga in North Korea in 1980, speaks during an interview in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 29, 2012.

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Robot calligraphy

CHIBA, Japan - A team of researchers at Keio University unveils a robot that it says reproduces brush strokes of eminent master Sado Juho at the CEATEC Japan information technology exhibition at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo on Oct. 2, 2012.

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Young ibis encounters raccoon dog

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis encounters a raccoon dog in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 7, 2012. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis eludes cat

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies away from a cat (below) in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 3, 2012. (Pool photo)

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Young ibises in Sado

SADO, Japan - Two young crested ibises (L) look for food beside one of their parents (R) in a fallow rice paddy in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 1, 2012. The young birds were two of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a pair released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly in late May 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild in Japan for 38 years. (Pool photo)

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Young ibises in Sado

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis (L) lands beside one of its parents in a fallow rice paddy in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 1, 2012. The young bird is one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a pair released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly in late May 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild in Japan for 38 years. (Pool photo)

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Young ibises in Sado

SADO, Japan - Two young crested ibises spread their wings in a fallow rice paddy in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on June 1, 2012. The young birds were two of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a pair released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly in late May 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild in Japan for 38 years. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis on rooftop

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis is perched on a rooftop in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. The one-month-old birds are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis on tree

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis stands on a tree branch in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. The one-month-old birds are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis (top) flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. At bottom is one of its parents. (Pool photo)

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Young ibis flies

SADO, Japan - A young crested ibis flies in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on May 31, 2012. The bird was one of three crested ibis chicks born in late April 2012 to a 3-year-old male and a 2-year-old female released in March 2011. They are believed to have begun learning to fly between May 25 and 27, 2012, becoming the first crested ibises to do so in the wild for 38 years in Japan. (Pool photo)

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Crested ibis chick seen flying after leaving nest

SADO, Japan - Photo shows a young crested ibis flying in the city of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, at 4:45 a.m. on May 30, 2012. The Environment Ministry said the same day it has confirmed a young crested ibis has been spotted flying around the city for the first time since beginning to learn to fly earlier in the month. (Pool photo)

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Crested ibises on Sado Island

NIIGATA, Japan - A pair of crested ibises are seen incubating in the nest on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on April 20, 2012. (Pool photo)

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Disaster anniv. concert in Paris

PARIS, France - Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (C) is applauded by the audience after his performance with Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado (far R) and the orchestra in a concert at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris, which was held on March 11, 2012, the first anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami, to offer condolences to the disaster victims and encourage those affected by it.

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Disaster anniv. concert in Paris

PARIS, France - Akiko Iwasaki (C), landlady of the Horaikan inn in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, makes a speech during a concert at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris held on March 11, 2012, the first anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami, to offer condolences to the disaster victims and encourage those affected by it. To the right is Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado.

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Disaster anniv. concert in Paris

PARIS, France - Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado (C) performs with a student orchestra from Hyogo Prefecture, which was hit by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, in a concert at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris on March 11, 2012, the first anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami, to offer condolences to the disaster victims and encourage those affected by it.

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Children's orchestra mourns disaster victims

KAMAISHI, Japan - Prominent conductor Yutaka Sado leads a students' orchestra beside a beach in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 9, 2011. The event was held in the area hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami to mourn the victims of the disaster.