Decision to add a new Property to the Tentative World Heritage List of Japan and Others

September 19, 2007

On September 14 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to add the main building of the National Museum of Western Art to the Tentative World Heritage List of Japan, which is based on the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (The World Heritage Convention), as a cultural heritage, and to submit a draft nomination of the “Architectural and Urban Work of Le Corbusier” which includes the assets of the building, to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, which is the secretariat of the World Heritage Convention, together with the countries concerned including France.

Note: The Governments of France and other countries are working collectively to have inscribed on the World Heritage List the “Architectural and Urban Work of Le Corbusier,” which comprises works of Le Corbusier (1887-1965) all over the world. Le Corbusier, French master modern architect, was born in Switzerland.　As of today, seven countries, Argentina, Belgium, Germany, India, Switzerland and Japan, together with France, are planning to work together to list 23 properties in the seven countries. (The main building of the National Museum of Western Art is the only work of Le Corbusier in Japan.)

The Tentative List is an inventory of those properties situated on its territory which each state party considers suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List and submits to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. In principle, each state party can recommend out of the Tentative List up to two properties a year to inscribe on the World Heritage List.

After each state party makes a recommendation, properties will be evaluated by the relevant Advisory Bodies, and the World Heritage Committee examines the nominations and makes its decisions.

At present, seven cultural properties and one natural property are on the Tentative List, of which the complete nomination of one property “Hiraizumi-Cultural Landscape Associated with Pure Land Buddhist Cosmology” has already been submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

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