PEOPLE
The Former Employee of Nippon Steel Corporation
The Achievements of Dr. Steuart Smith, who Encouraged the Idea that “Yawata is Important.”
－－By the way, this is a customary question, but when did Mr. Minakuchi first meet Director Kato?
Minakuchi In 2007, the old facilities of Yawata Steel Works were designated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as a National Heritage of Industrial Modernization, and since then, many people including the media have come to visit the Center through the Board of Education. I have a vague recollection, but I believe Ms. Kato visited the site with a member of the JTB Foundation (Japan Travel Bureau Foundation). I think that was the first time. I happened to read her book "Industrial Heritage" (published by Nikkei, Inc.) and was impressed by the fact that there was such an amazing woman in the world, so I was happy to meet her (laughs).
Kato That was on a tour to attend a symposium organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. That was when I took Dr. Smith and Mr. Barry Gamble to the site.
Minakuchi Dr. Smith made a lot of effort, but he passed away later on, did he not?
Kato Yes, unfortunately, shortly prior to the realization of it becoming inscribed... he was not able to see the day it came to reality.
Minakuchi Dr. Smith visited Yawata many times, but I still strongly remember how he always puffed on a cigarette.
Kato Dr. Smith was a very heavy smoker. In addition, he did not like Japanese food, so he always had a ham sandwich in his pocket to chew on. He did not mind eating old ham sandwiches, so I was always worried that he might get food poisoning (laughs).
Dr. Smith was the biggest supporter of the steel mill. When it became difficult to register the site of Higashida No. 1 Blast Furnace, Dr. Smith alone insisted that "Yawata is absolutely important," and he persuaded other overseas experts who were opposed to the idea that "a steel mill without a blast furnace cannot be recognized as a component part."
－－What was the decisive factor that allowed you to overcome such a difficult challenge?
Kato It was the fact that we still had a number of operating assets. Overseas experts recognized the great value within this fact. The existence of the operating assets proved the development process of modern iron and steel manufacturing technology, which was transferred from the West to Japan, and gradually became domestically produced and established as a self-sustaining technology.
If it had not been for the discovery of that single old photograph and the presentation of the existence of operational assets, such as the Onga River Pumping Station and the repair shop, at the very last-minute right before the application for inscription, the inscription would not have been possible. That is why I asked Mr. Minakuchi to talk about what happened at that time, and why I thought it necessary to record and preserve it in this interview.
Minakuchi To add to what you have just said, for example, the repair shop was designed by a German steel company when it was first established, and their steel products were used for the building. Later, in the second expansion in 1908, the design was done by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (currently known as IHI Corporation), and steel products from another German company were used. Then, in the third expansion in 1917, the steelwork designed and manufactured the steel for the building on its own. This historical development process can be seen in the carved seal (roll mark) engraved on the steel in the building. In this respect, the building has been highly evaluated by overseas experts as a symbol of the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution."
Former General Manager, Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Chairman, Fujisankei Group
Executive Managing Advisor, Fuji Television Network, Inc.
Executive Managing Advisor, Fuji Media Holdings, Inc.
Advisor, Federation of Japan Port and Airport Construction Association
(Ex. Chairman of Specialists Center of Port and Airport Engineering)
Mayor of Nagasaki City
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)