PEOPLE
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.
Address by Mr. Masanori Aoyagi, Commissioner for Cultural Affairs
Ms. Koko Kato mentioned that returning oversight of the World Heritage properties to the Agency for Cultural Properties would mean putting them on the endangered list. But I am not so sure. After all, those operating facilities may be getting tired and wishing they could stop and rest
As you are surely aware, Japan owes much in its industrialization to specialists from overseas, particularly those from Great Britain, with whom we share a strong historical connection.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain 150 years ago with much of the development in engineering taking place in Glasgow. In 1870, a young Glasgow engineer named Henry Dyer arrived in Japan. This is the person who helped to establish the first engineering school in Japan which would later become the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo.
When he returned to Great Britain, Dyer aptly noted in a lecture he gave that there were no European universities with engineering departments, only polytechnic institutes. Yet Japan had a whole faculty in its leading university devoted to engineering. Great Britain, he warned, would be taken over by Japan if it did not wake up to the need to have engineering departments within the highest centers of learning.
It is also interesting to note that when Dyer stood up to present his lecture, he was introduced as a “scientist.” But he quickly refuted this, say, “I am a man of science, not a scientist.” This holistic perception of his calling is something that Japan still needs to catch up with.
As these thoughts go through my mind, I would like to commemorate today’s World Heritage inscription by giving a toast to all the many people who worked to make this possible.
Address by Sir Neil Cossons
On behalf of our many friends outside of Japan, I would like to convey our heartfelt congratulations on this great achievement today. This was a truly wonderful nomination, very innovative, revolutionary, and new, and presents a whole new kind of challenge to UNESCO’s undertakings to date. This is a completely new way of thinking.
There is something about Ms. Koko Kato that I must mention here.
The famous Irish philosopher George Bernard Shaw once said, “…all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” I think we should add to that “unreasonable woman” as well.
For surely, Koko is probably the most unreasonable woman I know. She can be very difficult at times and there are occasions when it is impossible to meet her demands.
Professor Izumi, you have no idea. You are lucky if you only get 30 emails a day from her. I go out in the morning, return home in the evening, and when I ask my wife if there are any messages, she says, “Koko telephoned you five times.”
But I would like to emphasize, Koko’s persistence reflects her dedication, focus, determination to proceed without compromise, her strong commitment to this project. It is thanks to her that we are here today celebrating this inscription.
So, to this very unreasonable woman, Koko, who has caused us much pain and anguish, I wish to say thank you. Thanks to you, Koko, we are able to celebrate today. Thank you very much.
And I would also like to thank everyone here today. It has been an honor, and a wonderful opportunity, for me to work with you on this project over the past few years. Your commitment to and strong belief in this project is to be commended and I am sure that is what has brought us to this successful conclusion.
Finally, I would like to address one point that I hope you will never forget. We have had to deal with complex national issues over the past few weeks. Of course, we must tackle the problems that are the source of these issues, but this in no way invalidates the value of the core heritage properties that date from the mid-19th century to around 1910. This is the period in which Japan was transformed from an isolated, feudal country to a modern nation. This is at the core, and the primary reason for, the serial nomination.
I would like to close now with the words of Queen Victoria.
“We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.”
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)