The government made it official Friday and will recommend old industrial facilities in eight prefectures for inclusion on the list of World Heritage cultural sites in 2015.

Dubbed the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution," the recommendations comprise 28 facilities that represent the nation's industrialization from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

Mostly in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture, the facilities include the Yahata ironworks and the Nagasaki dockyard, both of which are still in operation, as well as Hashima Islet, once a flourishing undersea coal mine.