PEOPLE
Pro-Provost and Chairman of Council of the Royal College of Art. Heritage advisor of Canal & River Trust for England and Wales.
What was the most impressive event you have experienced in the process of nomination?
There were several. For me it was a great honor and privilege to be invited to chair, over some eight years, the consortium that examined the full range of sites from which were selected the final group that went forward for inscription.
Meeting so many people from local communities and gaining such a vivid reflection of their own enthusiasm for the World Heritage proposal was both moving and inspiring. This consultation program brought out the extraordinary pride of place that people felt for these outstanding cultural assets. Later, to work with senior figures in Government in pulling together the final nomination document was a salutary and satisfying experience, reflecting the weight and authority of Japan as a nation and its commitment to presenting a great case to UNESCO.
Could you please let us know your impression of Koko since you referred to her, in the celebration party in Bonn, as the most unreasonable woman in the world?
In congratulating the Japan delegation on the evening celebration of the successful inscription in Bonn I drew on two quotations. The first was by Queen Victoria who said “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat: they do not exist”. This seemed to capture the spirit that throughout had driven the nomination process.
The second was by the celebrated Irish philosopher George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) who said “…. all progress depends on the unreasonable man” (‘Man and Superman’, 1903) and then went on to say that he might also have added “the unreasonable woman”! This was in order to illustrate that the nomination could never have happened if it had not been for the drive and determination of Koko Kato. Her resolve was beyond measure and without it we would never have succeeded.
In suggesting that she was the most unreasonable woman I had ever come across immediately struck a chord with the whole Japan team, all of whom had been subject to her vigorous driving of the project forward. The applause and laughter that followed was both a recognition by all that we owed so much to Koko, great affection for all she had done – and relief that it was all over!
How did you feel about the inscription of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution?
It has been a long haul to get the nomination prepared, the result of extraordinary efforts by everyone concerned, so I feel both proud to have contributed to the project and delight that it led to a successful inscription.
What do you expect from Japan’s government in planning Meiji Industrial Revolution’s Interpretation strategy?
It is essential that the series and the sites of which it is composed are interpreted as part of a carefully co-ordinated strategy. This is necessary in order to ensure consistency of message and coherent branding so that the sites are all seen to be parts of the whole series.
I heard you are deeply involved in the process of developing the interpretation strategy. Could you please tell us a little bit about it?
I’m keen to contribute to the wider interpretation program but need to see the strategic framework and, in particular, a timetable and management plan. This needs to be tightly programed and managed with a single manager in charge with full authority – and funding – to drive the program to completion.
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)