UNESCO Committee Considers Asuka-Fujiwara Ancient Capitals for World Heritage List

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is deliberating in Busan, South Korea, on whether to add the Asuka-Fujiwara ancient capitals in Nara Prefecture to its list. The proposed site comprises 19 assets from the sixth to eighth centuries, including the Asuka Palace Site, the Fujiwara Palace Site and the Takamatsuzuka Mounded Tomb.

Japan Times reported the committee's ongoing meeting is expected to reach a decision soon.

Takahiro Yamazaki, 64, who runs a cafe in the village of Asuka, said he hopes the listing will prompt more people to consider how Japan formed as a nation. Yamazaki moved to nearby Kashihara from Osaka Prefecture as a child and later served as chief of the city's tourism promotion and regional attraction creation divisions.

Since retiring from local government, Yamazaki has taught at the World Heritage club in junior high schools, worked as a tourist guide and helped manage a guesthouse.

He noted that the ancient capital preservation law has restricted development and kept many assets intact. "Generally, cities are constantly updated, so the remnants of the past are hard to survive," Yamazaki said. " He described the sites as a time capsule.

"Japan's first centralized government system was established in this place, and the latest culture at the time, such as Buddhism, was introduced to Japan," Yamazaki said.