PEOPLE
Awareness of "Stories with Connections" is steadily spreading throughout each region～There are also challenges for conservation management and interpretation～
World Heritage Consultant
Ms. Sarah Jane Brazil is a World Heritage Consultant. She is an advisor to the preservation and management of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution and to its interpretation. On her first visit to Japan, she said, “I was struck by how much work is constantly required in the process of inscribing 23 complex component parts on the World Heritage List.” This time, she came back to Japan to formulate an interpretation strategy after the inscription of the World Heritage Site. We asked her about her history up to this point and her future challenges.
――Ms. Brazil, you are a specialist in the preservation of Australia's historical heritage. In regards to the “Heritage of Industrial Revolution of Meiji Japan,” you came to Japan initially as a researcher for ICOMOS, to objectively assess the suitability of the site for inclusion in the World Heritage List. This time, as one of the overseas experts, you gave a variety of advice on how the conservation management and interpretation of this heritage site ought to be conducted.
Ms. Brazil: That is right. My first visit to Japan was in 2014. My role was to assess, from a neutral and objective standpoint, whether or not the “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution” had historical value worthy of being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and whether or not there were sufficient conservation and management systems in place. At this time, I went around all 23 component parts. Authenticity and integrity are the prerequisites that ICOMOS seeks for in a World Heritage Site. In addition, we conducted on-site surveys of each component part’s preservation and management systems. Based on that, we prepared a report and submitted it to ICOMOS.
――In Japan, this was the first time that an application for inscription was made using the serial nomination method, which consists of multiple historical heritages. So there was a lot of tension on the part of the people concerned in Japan.
Ms. Brazil：Yes, it would seem so. More so, it was the same for us investigators. I was also very nervous. This was the first time that I had been in charge of assessing such a large and complex historical heritage site.
――Prior to that, what kind of World Heritage Sites were you in charge of at ICOMOS?
Ms. Brazil：Mainly, it was the management of the inscribed World Heritage Site. Specifically, I managed challenges that can arise after the site is inscribed as a World Heritage Site. One example is the World Heritage Site of New Lanark in Scotland, UK. It consists of cotton spinning-related factories, workers’ housing, and others from the Industrial Revolution in the UK at the end of the 18th century. Like the “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution,” it is a complex historical heritage registered as a partnership between the public and private sectors, including privately-owned facilities. I also had some pretty tough negotiations with local people over the preservation and management of the property. In particular, it was necessary to negotiate the social and economic benefits to the local community of this World Heritage Site’s conservation management and interpretation.
――Other than that, what kind of career have you had?
Ms. Brazil：I have been involved in World Heritage and historical heritage for a long time. In my home country, I am a member of an Executive Committee of Australia ICOMOS. I was also involved in the creation of a list of national heritage sites selected by the government, including the Old Parliament House in Canberra. Apart from that, I have also set up an organization to select the best practices from within our national heritages. In this context, I have been involved in educating the younger generation about a wide range of conservation and restoration.
In addition, regarding UNESCO, as a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Forum in the UK, I was also involved in the promotion of the 28 World Heritage sites in the UK.
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)