Tomioka Silk Mill Designated as World Heritage Site

On April 25, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that conducts preliminary inspections to determine whether sites should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, recommended the inclusion of the Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites (Gunma Prefecture), which had been recommended by the Japanese government as the sites played an important role in the growth of silk industry around the world. In response, on June 21, the 38^th World Heritage Committee, held in Doha, Qatar, decided to inscribe the Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites in the World Heritage List as Cultural Heritage Sites. (Japanese)