UNESCO set to recognise heritage areas of Japan

Two areas of Japan are likely to be added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites, including one that is in the region that was badly damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

An advisory panel to the United Nations organization has put forward a recommendation that the Hiraizumi district of Iwate Prefecture and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch to the south of Tokyo Bay, both be recognized for their cultural and historic significance.

The World Heritage Committee is scheduled to meet in Paris in June and is expected to approve Japan's application to have the two sites formally registered.

Recognition would be a particular bonus to the town of Hiraizumi, which previously applied for recognition in 2008 but was turned down. Iwate Prefecture was badly affected by the March 11 twin disasters, although the properties that have passed the screening by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) are to the south of the prefecture and were not damaged.

The town was the fiefdom of the Fujiwara clan in the late Heian Era (794-1185) and most of the subsequent Kamakura period (1185-1333). It effectively served as the capital of Oshu, a kingdom that covered one-third of Japan. At its peak, the city rivalled the far more well-known city of Kyoto in terms of its size and splendor.

Today, a cluster of temples and ruins that date back to the Fujiwara clan's residency remain, including Chusonji, a Buddhist temple that is famous for its Golden Hall.

According to the Cultural Affairs Agency, the temples and gardens of Hiraiuzumi are symbolic of the "pure land" tradition of Buddhism.

The second of the sites, the Ogasawara Islands, have been described as the Galapagos of the Orient due to their unique ecosystem and wide range of indigenous species. Also known as the Bonin Islands, the chain of more than 30 tropical and sub-tropical islands stretch more than 1,000 km south of Tokyo.

Only two of the islands are inhabited and a mere 2,400 people live on Chichi-jima and Haha-jima. The archipelago has already been recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for its efforts to prevent species from outside the islands from invading.

When approval is granted, the two areas will be the 12th and 13th regions of Japan to join the World Heritage list and the first since the Shiretoko peninsula, in Hokkaido, was recognized in 2005.

JR