Japan on Friday formally endorsed the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido as its candidate for UNESCO's World Heritage List.

With the formal recommendation to be submitted to the World Heritage Center in Paris on Jan. 30, the Environment Ministry said Shiretoko is expected to be registered as a World Heritage Site during an annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee in June 2005.

Established in 1992, the center is the focal point and coordinator within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for all matters related to the World Heritage program.

Shiretoko would be Japan's third UNESCO natural heritage site. The others are the Shirakami mountainous district in Aomori and Akita prefectures, and Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, both of which were registered in 1993 for their ancient forests and rich flora.

The Shiretoko designation, in line with the 1972 World Heritage Convention, would cover 56,100 hectares of land straddling the towns of Shari and Rausu, as well as a water area of 7,400 hectares.

Shiretoko, in eastern Hokkaido, is where ice floes wash ashore. It is a habitat for a number of internationally rare species.

Acting on Japan's nomination of Shiretoko, the World Conservation Union, an advisory body to the committee, is scheduled to visit the site by autumn to assess protection measures and management of the area.

Aside from Shirakami and Yakushima, Japan has nine other sites on the list under the cultural heritage category.