Hiraizumi fails in World Heritage site screening

[ShintoCanadianmale]

Hiraizumi fails in World Heritage site screening

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to postpone the registration of cultural assets of the Hiraizumi district in northern Japan.

The committee's meeting, now underway in Quebec, Canada, made the decision on Sunday in line with a recommendation by an advisory panel in May. The panel said Hiraizumi lacks the credentials of universal value to make it a worthy World Heritage site.

This is the first time the UNESCO committee has turned down a site recommended by the Japanese government. Japan already has 14 registered World Heritage Sites, including those in Kyoto and Nara.

Toshiya Naito, an official of the Cultural Affairs Agency, said it is regrettable that the committee did not understand the value of Hiraizumi. He said it was difficult to make them understand Buddhist concepts at a time when the UNESCO is restricting the number of registrations.

He said the government will do all it can to get Hiraizumi registered as a World Heritage site, because it still believes the district deserves that honor.

To get Hiraizumi screened again, Japan has to rewrite a recommendation for the site and have UNESCO officials visit the site to make an assessment. The next screening would take place in 2010 at the earliest.

Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture features many Buddhist temples and gardens built by a local clan in the 12th century to create what is called a Buddhist heaven.

2008/07/07 16:02

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[manners]

That's a pity because Hiraizumi is a special place. I've been there and it has value as a place to be visited.