The governor of Niigata Prefecture, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, has proposed that one of the gold and silver mines on the island of Sado be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hanazumi Hideyo addressed a gathering of about 80 people, UNESCO envoys from 20 countries, at the Japan Cultural Institute in Paris on Tuesday.
Presenting visual photographs of the mines, Hanazumi said they had Outstanding Universal Value.
He said the region had given rise to a very complex taste of artisanal production that produced some of the world’s gold.
The mayor of the city of Sado, Watanabe Ryugo, and Japan’s ambassador to UNESCO, Kano Takehiro, supported the project.
The Japanese government presented a first council for mines in February 2022. He revised it last year after the U. N. cultural firm said the first document was incomplete.
A resolution will be presented at the assembly of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in India in July.