Three Japanese sites, including Lake Toya, have been added to the list of UNESCO-sponsored global "geoparks," or nature parks with particular importance in terms of geological features, the Japanese Geoparks Network said Sunday.
The other sites are the Itoi River in Niigata Prefecture and the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Geoparks are nationally protected parks considered "Earth heritage sites" that need protection.