Displaced Cultural Properties Returned to Afghanistan

On August 5, the Japan Committee for the Protection of Displaced Cultural Properties (Chairperson: MIYATA Ryōhei) announced the return of some displaced cultural properties to Afghanistan. The Committee was established under the leadership of HIRAYAMA Ikuo, who served a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, following the destruction of the stone Buddha statues of the Bamiyan Valley by the Taliban in 2001. It has been protecting and preserving cultural properties that were illegally taken abroad during the political unrest caused by civil wars. The 102 displaced cultural properties will be returned after some of them are displayed in the special exhibition titled ‘Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul’ to be held at the Kyushu National Museum and the Tokyo National Museum in 2016. (Japanese)