The government decided Friday to drop its plan to recommend a chain of islands southwest of the Japanese archipelago for inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage list this summer.
The decision, approved at a Cabinet meeting, came after a UNESCO preliminary review panel opted against recommending the islands in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures for this year's world natural heritage site listing in May, calling for further review.
The government will seek their registration in the list as early as 2020. It had originally recommended the islands in February 2017.