PEOPLE
In the midst of accurate information dissemination, it created a chance to truly look at history
Dean of Tokyo Rissho Junior College
Professor emeritus of Keio University
Graduating Keio University Graduate School of Commerce with Ph.D., but was soon expelled. After working as an assistant professor at Keio University’s Faculty of Commerce, he became a professor in 1987 and a professor emeritus in 2011. During this period, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Exeter in the UK, a Downing College Fellow at Cambridge University and an executive director of Keio University. After being a professor and vice-president of Tohoku University of Community Service and Science, he assumed his current position in 2015. He specializes in industrial history and business history. Member and chairperson of the “Industrial Heritage Expert Committee including Working Properties.”
――Please tell us regarding the time when you accepted the position as chairman of the Expert Committee, and what you were thinking about at the time.
As I gave lectures on industrial history at a university for a long time, I felt that Japan has not been able to preserve its industrial heritage appropriately to pass it down to the future compared to the UK, where I used to study abroad. That is when Ms. Kato invited me to the Expert Committee. I accepted her offer because I resonated with her idea of creating a framework for the preservation and utilization of industrial heritage—the combination of region, corporate, and government—as a bridge.
――When the Council for Cultural Affairs recommended the churches in Nagasaki, the Expert Committee recommended this project (Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution) instead. Please tell us about the administration of the proceedings at the time.
It was carefully considered at each project meeting that brought together experts in shipbuilding, steel, port, and so on. Even if it is certain to meet the requirements for the recommendation,—since it was a project that received advice from internationally prominent committee members—we took the time to discuss whether we could answer the basic questions of creating a new framework. After the discussion exceeded the scheduled time, it was judged that the discussion was converging towards the recommendation, and the opinions of the members were summarized. Since coordination with the government is typically responsible for selecting the World Heritage nomination candidate,--the Council for Cultural Affairs’ recommendation or Cabinet Secretariat Expert Committee’s recommendation--so we decided independently without the consultation of the government.
――Please tell us about your impressions of what you had said when you met Ms. Kato at the International Mining Conference.
Personally, I have known her name for a long time, but I met her for the first time at the International Mining History Conference of 2000 in Greece; that was when she made an announcement addressing Takashima and Hashima Coal Mines. My first impression was that she had an extraordinary passion for industrial heritage and was a very active person who takes initiative. Ms. Kato was a unique person in this field. Especially because one tends to be active only within their specific field when one specializes in one, however, she was interested in a very wide range of activities from the beginning.
Former Director of the Sano Tsunetami Memorial Museum (currently known as Sano Tsunetami and the Mietsu Naval Dock History Museum)
Director of NPO Association for Thinking about Satoyama
Director of National Congress of the Industrial Heritage
Honorary Chief Priest Toshinari Ueda
Former Mayor of Omuta City
Archaeologist and Heritage Conservation Specialist
A fellow of the Japan Federation of Engineering Societies
Team Member of the Industrial Project Team Office for the Promotion of World Heritage Listing under Cabinet Secretariat
Governor of Kagoshima Prefecture
Mayor of Hagi City
Mayor of Uki City, Kumamoto Prefecture
The Former Employee of Nippon Steel Corporation
An Associate Professor of the Faculty of Science and Engineering in Iwate University
Chairman of the Tourist Guide Association of Misumi West Port
President of Kuraya Narusawa Co., Ltd.
Chairman of Izunokuni City Tourism Association
Director and General Manager of Gunkanjima Concierge
Producer of the Gunkanjima Digital Museum
Owner at Tōge Chaya
Chairman: Mr. Hidenori Date
President: Mr. Masahiro Date
Proprietor, Houraikan Inn
Representative Director of Egawa Bunko non-profit incorporated foundation
The 42nd head of the Egawa Family
Democratic Party for the People (DPP) Representative for Nagasaki Prefecture
President of the NPO, Way to World Heritage Gunkanjima
Representative Director
MI Consulting Group
President of Watanabe Production Group and Honorary Chair of Watanabe Productions Co., Ltd.
Member of the House of Councillors
Governor
Kagoshima Prefecture
World Heritage Consultant
Director and Dean, The Kyushu-Asia Institute of Leadership
Representative Director, SUMIDA, Inc.
Journalist, founder of the Shimomura Mitsuko Ikikata Juku School
Representative, Rally Nippon
Chairman, Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution World Heritage Route Promotion Council Director, National Congress of Industrial Heritage
Representative Director, General Incorporated Foundation National Congress of Industrial Heritage (Advisor, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Capital Markets Research Institute）
Mayor of Nagasaki City
Policy Director at Heritage Montreal
World Heritage Consultant
Executive Director of Kogakuin University
Heritage Architect and International Consultant
Head of Data Acquisition at The Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation
Head of Industrial Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland, Edinburgh
Scottish Ten Project Manager, Historic Environment Scotland, Edinburgh
Mayor of Izunokuni City, Shizuoka Prefecture
Pro-Provost and Chairman of Council of the Royal College of Art. Heritage advisor of Canal & River Trust for England and Wales.
Dean of Tokyo Rissho Junior College
Professor emeritus of Keio University
Mayor of Kitakyushu City
At the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee convened in Bonn, Germany, from June 28 to July 8, 2015, the decision was approved to inscribe the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution on the World Heritage list.
At a celebratory party held to mark the occasion, some of the primary promoters of the project spoke of their joy in achieving their goal and of the trials and tribulations to getting there.
Director and Managing Executive Officer, Hanshin Expressway Company Limited
Member, Board of Directors, National Congress of Industrial Heritage
Vice-Governor of Shizuoka Prefecture
Mayor of Hagi City
Chairman, Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd.
Mayor of Omuta City
Deputy Director-General, Lifelong Learning Policy Bureau, MEXT
Former Counsellor, Cabinet Secretariat
Mayor of Kamaishi City
Member, Board of Directors, National Congress of Industrial Heritage Counselor, Shimadzu Limited
Chairman of the Consortium for the World Heritage Inscription of Modern Industrial Heritage (Kyushu-Yamaguchi) and governor of Kagoshima Prefecture (as of 2015)