Shimane: World Heritage Site Iwami Ginzan to Sign Friendship Agreement with Taiwan Gold Mine

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:00 JST, July 20, 2024

ODA, Shimane — The Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Center, a museum which showcases the history and culture of a now defunct silver mine, Iwami Ginzan — a UNESCO World Heritage site — in Oda, Shimane Prefecture, will sign a partnership agreement with the Gold Museum in New Taipei City in November, sources said.

The Gold Museum, in northern Taiwan, showcases Jinguashi’s past as a gold mining town.

According to the Oda City Board of Education, which oversees the museum, the full-scale development of Jinguashi began around the end of the 19th century under Japanese rule, and a company operating in the Iwami mine at the time was also involved in its development.

Exchanges between the Gold Museum and the Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Center have been going on for some time, and the two museums have held exhibitions showcasing each other’s mines.

The friendship agreement in Chinese is expected to be signed on Nov. 4, when Oda city officials are expected to visit Taiwan for the museum’s 20th anniversary celebration. The agreement in Japanese is scheduled to be signed in July next year when officials from the Taiwan museum visit Oda.

Both facilities hope that the partnership agreement will help increase tourism.

“Since the museum attracts many tourists, [the agreement] will also allow the World Heritage Center to receive many visitors,” said an official from the Oda City Board of Education.