This is still not certain, two different committees will propose Jomon and Amami Islands to the government final decision. This is the result of new policy of WHC that only 1 site per country.

Typhoon damaged WHSs in Kyoto and Nara

Initial report : some damages at Nara's Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Kyoto's Shimogama Shrine, Nijo Castle, Ninnaji Temple.

http://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/AJ201809050023.html

More damages report from WHSs of Nijo Castle, To-ji and Nishi Honganji Temple

https://www.asahi.com/sp/articles/ASL9556XQL95PLZB01N.html

400 years old "mother tree" of WHS of Shirakami Sanchi also broken down by the strong wind.

https://www.nikkansports.com/m/general/news/201809070000764_m.html?mode=all

Minor damage at Horyu-ji Temple

https://www.jiji.com/sp/article?k=2018090500904&g=oeq

Roof damage at Kimpusan-ji Temple (part of WHS Kii Mountain)

https://www.sankei.com/smp/west/news/180906/wst1809060040-s1.html

WHS Nara's Kofukuji rebuilt hall which burned down in 1717!

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201810190003.html

in 2017 another Nara WHS's Yakushiji rebuilt Jikido Hall which burned down around 1700!

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170510/p2a/00m/0na/004000c

Japan's vote for Top 5 Missing

Japanese media did a poll to ask which site in Japan that should be add to WHS.

Top 5

1. Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture
2. Kamakura
3. Aso Volcano
4. Hikone Castle
5. Tokyo Tower !!!

https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20190907-889635/

It's such a shame the Japanese culture doesn't want to face a discussion and "force" Kamakura onto the list due to the negative feedback from ICOMOS. Everything goes nowadays.

Tokyo Tower lol when I was a teenager I watched a few Japanese shows and couples would literally meet up at the tower at least once per show. That's modern OUV!

The Eiffel Tower is already registered :)

Whereas Yakushima is "free entrance" to the core zone at the west coast, the trail to Jomon Sugi is not. You have to pay a "donation" when you hike anywhere on the mountain payable at the tourist office (you get a nice stamped wooden token to show for. Not doing the Jomon Sugi day trip wouldn't automatically charge you for this thus not paying and going hiking on your own would fall under "trick". I'm sure there are some signs pointing this out (in Japanese probably).

Indeed. Kamakura is quite lovely! Some of the most athmospheric temples I've visited (and that's saying a lot, considering most Japanese temples have a certain vibe).


Tokyo Tower would indeed be a quite ridiculous addition to the WHL, but Tokyo does have some quite unique examples of modern architecture: The Yoyogi National Gymnasium (by Kenzo Tange, built for the 1964 Olympics), the metabolist Nakagin Capsule Tower (which is threatened with demolition) and Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Tower, some of the luxury brand buildings in Ginza and Omotesando (e.g. Mikimoto building by Toyo Ito, Prada Aoyama building by Herzog & de Meuron, Tod's Omotesando building also by Toyo Ito, C Dior building by SANAA).

WHS Shuri Castle destroyed by fire

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/31/national/shuri-castle-fire/#.Xbon9yUxWEc

Sounds like its main halls were really devastated..

It was already a reconstruction after destruction in WWII. Japan and other Far East countries are always cited of course as having a different, "accepting", attitude towards reconstruction with regards to its impact on "authenticity" compared with "European" ones. Hence Warsaw was inscribed FOR its post WWII reconstruction rather than for its historic OUV.
The Shuri fire seems to be connected with a renovation project which statistically has been a dangerous time for WHS (e.g Notre Dame). But it is amazing really how many we have on our "destroyed by fire " Connection - 34 now and that is only fires at cultural sites. No wonder that assessment of prevention measures has been introduced to nomination assessments etc.

I was surprised to hear this news because I had never heard of this castle. I have not been to Okinawa, and my quick research showed that the reason I had not heard about it was because it was reconstructed in 1992, which was after I left Japan. What I had heard a lot about was the Shurei-mon, one of the gates to this castle area, which was reconstructed in 1958, long before I left Japan and was even born.

My quick research also shows that it was the 5th time this castle burned down, the last before this being during the American bombing in 1945. Then it was rebuilt in 1992, so buildings that burned down this time were only 27 years old. But this is a huge tragedy because it is supposed to be the symbol of the Okinawans, and what they painstakingly rebuilt after years of meticulous research went down only after 27 years.

Furthermore, the UNESCO'S main page on this site in Japanese (along with an NHK article and the Wiki entry in Japanese) all state that the WHS covers "the ruins" of the castle and not the reconstructed buildings, which means what burned down is not part of this WHS.

No sprinklers were installed in the castle because the law stipulates that sprinklers must be installed only in the original cultural buildings and not in reconstructed ones. But it looks like they are changing this law after this fire to also include reconstructed ones, belatedly.

Many historic movable objects were also lost permanently.

This Japan Times article has another inaccuracy. It says, "In 1949, the main hall of Horyuji, a Buddhist temple in Nara Prefecture, burned down." As I understand, only some rooms burned down, and what is standing today is still the oldest wooden structure in the world.