Japan plans to list Mt. Fuji and four other sites as the country's candidates for U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage sites, Kyodo News said Monday.

 

In addition to Japan's top peak, the list also includes Nagasaki churches and other Christian assets, Gunma prefecture's Tomioka Silk Mill, and historic ruins around Nara Prefecture's Asuka village as cultural heritage nominees, and the Ogasawara Islands as a natural heritage candidate.

 

The list will be submitted to the UNESCO by Thursday, before they can be included in the provisional list in June, the report said.

 

Out of the approved provisional list, Tokyo will later recommend the sites for registration on the World Heritage list.

 

Currently, Japan has 10 sites registered as World Cultural Heritage sites including Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, Hiroshima Peace Memorial and others, as well as three as World Natural Heritage sites -- the Shirakami-Sanchi mountain range in Aomori and Akita prefectures, Yakushima island in Kagoshima prefecture and the Shiretoko area in Hokkaido.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2007)