An important UNESCO panel has recommended that World Heritage status be granted to Mount Fuji, putting the iconic peak on a direct path to registration.
Japan's tallest mountain is expected to be formally listed in June when the World Heritage Committee meets in Cambodia.
However, the advisory panel, known as the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), also said in the late Tuesday announcement that it rejected a Japanese request to add a group of cultural assets in the ancient city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, to the World Heritage list, citing scarce assets directly linked to the medieval shogunate's rule.