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Tag - world-heritage

 
 

WORLD HERITAGE

Cafe owner Takahiro Yamazaki hopes an expected registration of the Asuka-Fujiwara ancient capitals in Nara Prefecture as a UNESCO World Heritage site will give more people a chance to think about Japan's ancient times.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 20, 2026
Nara cafe owner hopeful about ancient capitals¡¯ World Heritage listing
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee¡¯ is deliberating in Busan, South Korea, whether to add the Asuka-Fujiwara ancient capitals to its list of World Heritage sites.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 20, 2026
U.N. to list more sites as ¡®in danger¡¯ from conflict or climate change
Among them are a biblical site, Lebanese castles, an antelope migration path and the world¡¯s deepest lake.
The Sado Island Gold Mines in Niigata Prefecture were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 16, 2026
UNESCO panel to urge Japan to reform exhibits at gold mines on Sado Island
The draft was compiled based on South Korea¡¯s argument that people from the Korean Peninsula were forced to provide labor at the mining complex during World War II.
The Asuka-Fujiwara archaeological sites in western Japan have been recommended to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jun 6, 2026
Asuka-Fujiwara ancient capitals to join World Heritage list
A UNESCO advisory panel has recommended adding the archaeological sites in western Japan to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list.
Mine-Akiyoshidai, a karst plateau in Yamaguchi Prefecture, has been named Japan¡¯s 11th UNESCO Global Geopark.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Apr 24, 2026
Karst plateau in western Japan named UNESCO Global Geopark
Mine-Akiyoshidai, in the city of Mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture, is the 11th UNESCO Global Geopark in Japan.
Stains caused by a liquid-like substance were found on the National Treasure Bussokuseki at Yakushiji Temple.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2026
Police investigate stains found on national treasure at Nara temple
Law enforcement is looking into the case on suspicion of violation of the cultural properties protection law.
Ogasawara Mayor Masaaki Shibuya will meet residents on April 13 to outline his response to a government request on surveying a potential nuclear waste site on Minamitorishima.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Apr 2, 2026
Ogasawara chief to clarify stance on nuclear waste site survey
Some participating residents expressed concerns about the possibility of the facility damaging the environment and causing rumors harmful to the entire Ogasawara Islands.
The Murakami Festival, held in the city of Murakami, Niigata Prefecture, has been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list along with five other items from Japan.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Dec 12, 2025
Six Japanese items added to UNESCO intangible heritage list
Four of the six new items will be registered under the category of ¡°Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan.¡±
The open-air bath at Tsurunoyu Hot Springs in Nyuto Onsenkyo, in Semboku, Akita Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 29, 2025
Kagura and onsen culture to be recommended for UNESCO heritage
A government panel has chosen kagura, a Japanese traditional performing art, and onsen hot spring culture as candidates for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage designation.
Autographed manuscripts from ¡°Fushikaden,¡± noh master Zeami¡¯s 15th-century treatise on the traditional Japanese theater performances
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Nov 25, 2025
Japan to push noh master Zeami¡¯s ¡®Fushikaden¡¯ for UNESCO listing
The Executive Board of the U.N. agency is expected to review the bid in spring 2027.
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Aug 15, 2025
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The man, in his 20s, went missing after a brown bear attacked him while he was descending a mountain in eastern Hokkaido on Thursday.
Photos of Nazca Line geoglyphs newly discovered by a team of researchers at Yamagata University, on Monday in the city of Osaka
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 29, 2025
Japanese researchers discover 248 Nazca Line geoglyphs in Peru
The team conducted field surveys on sites selected from aerial photographs using artificial intelligence.
A Cambodian guide (left) gives an explanation about the exhibit as tourists look at portrait photos of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 13, 2025
Cambodia marks UNESCO recognition of Khmer Rouge sites as places of ¡®peace and reflection¡¯
The Khmer Rouge sites mark Cambodia¡¯s fifth World Heritage listing, and is the country¡¯s first modern-era nomination and among the first globally tied to recent conflict.
Critics of plans to build a condominium on a vacant lot in the Komachi area of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, argue that valuable relics may be buried beneath the site.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 6, 2025
Development project at historic Kamakura site raises concerns
Citizens and history researchers are urging authorities to halt construction, expressing concerns that valuable relics may be buried beneath the site.
The "kondosotosu" iron knife and pieces of armor, on Thursday in the city of Sakai, Osaka Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jun 20, 2025
Japan team finds possible tomb artifacts at nation¡¯s largest ancient tumulus
An iron knife and pieces of armor have been confirmed to be from the keyhole-shaped grave mound, the team said.
The Great Wall of China near Beijing. Two Japanese tourists were detained in China for taking photos showing exposed buttocks at the World Heritage site.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Mar 14, 2025
China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic, reports state
The tourists reportedly told the Japanese embassy they did it as a prank.
According to the Cultural Affairs Agency, shod¨­ is defined as the act of writing kanji and kana characters using traditional brushstrokes and techniques.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Mar 4, 2025
Japan to again propose calligraphy for UNESCO heritage list
The government is expected to submit the fresh proposal to UNESCO by the end of the month.
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Feb 16, 2025
Himeji Castle entrance fee to go up 2.5-fold for nonresidents
The city plans to use the resulting windfall for maintenance, online ticket sales, bag check services and guided tours for foreign visitors.
Sake bottles are displayed at the 19th World Cultural Heritage Conference, as sake was added to UNESCO'S Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in Asuncion, Paraguay on Wednesday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Dec 5, 2024
Japanese sake brewing added to UNESCO intangible heritage list
Traditional sake brewing marks the 23rd Japanese entry on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, joining other culturally significant arts such as washoku and kabuki.
People offer a moment of silence during a ceremony held for the first time on Sunday to remember those who worked at the now-defunct gold mines on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, including those from the Korean Peninsula.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Nov 25, 2024
Japan calls it ¡®regrettable¡¯ South Korea skipped Sado mine memorial
The event came after the Sado Island Gold Mines were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site earlier this year.

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon

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