NEWSWORTHY
Rescuers comb smoldering ash in search for 200 missing near Guatemala volcano as death toll hits 85
Rescuers scoured a lava and ash ravaged landscape in Guatemala for a third straight day on Wednesday in search of survivors and victims of Fuego volcano's calamitous eruption, which has left an estimated 85 people dead and some 200 missing. Volcan de Fuego, which means ...
Japan drops bid for World Heritage listing covering southwestern islands
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 ...
A government panel on Monday called for integrating a forest area in northern Okinawa, including land returned by the U.S. military, with an adjacent national park to better conserve the environment. The panel asked the Environment Ministry incorporate some 3,700 hectares of forest area partly ...
Japan to temporarily withdraw UNESCO World Heritage bid for Amami and Okinawa isles
The government plans to temporarily withdraw its proposal for the addition of Amami-Okinawa islands to the UNESCO World Heritage list, with a goal of resubmitting the application to the international cultural body next year after revamping it, informed sources said Wednesday. The move is expected ...
Sites in Kyushu linked to Christian persecution pass preliminary review for UNESCO heritage list
Japan says the assets show how Christians upheld their faith despite persecution by the Tokugawa shogunate.
UNESCO designates Izu Peninsula as Japan's 9th 'Global Geopark'
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Council has designated the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture as a Global Geopark for its unique geology and geography, the Japan Geopark Committee said Tuesday. The peninsula became the ninth Global Geopark in Japan, after Mount Apoi in the northernmost prefecture ...
Museum chronicling history of Japan's persecuted Christians opens in Nagasaki
A museum displaying items related to Japanese Christians persecuted in the 17th to 19th centuries recently opened at a major Catholic church in Nagasaki, a candidate site for the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. The museum was set up on April 1 at Oura Church ...
Tsushima Island was key conduit of Japan's Edo Period trade with Korea
Japan's historic relationship with the Korean Peninsula has often been complicated by mutual misunderstanding and distrust, if not outright hostility. But on Tsushima, a Japanese island off the coast of the peninsula, efforts are being made to celebrate long-ago diplomatic missions with Korea that ...
Japan to pitch Kobushi mountain region as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve area
The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO will propose for registration as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve area the Kobushi mountain region, which straddles Saitama and three neighboring prefectures. The commission said Wednesday it plans to submit an application in September. Whether the region will be added ...
U.S. Interior chief halts second federal oil lease sale after local outcry
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday announced he has postponed a second federal oil and gas lease sale planned for March in less than a week in response to local opposition to the possibility of drilling near national parks and monuments. Zinke took to ...
Osaka Prefecture will launch a campaign to get World Heritage status for Taiyo no To (Tower of the Sun), a symbol of the 1970 World Expo, Gov. Ichiro Matsui said. With Osaka aiming to host the 2025 World Expo, it would be ideal for the ...
Japan to nominate ancient tombs in Osaka for World Heritage list
The government on Friday decided to nominate ancient tumulus clusters in Osaka Prefecture as a UNESCO World Heritage site candidate for 2019. The government will submit a letter of recommendation to UNESCO by Feb. 1, with an eye on the Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun, one of the ...
