Japan to Push Ancient Tumulus Clusters for 2019 UNESCO Listing

January 19, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government at a cabinet meeting on Friday agreed to propose the Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun ancient tumulus clusters in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, for UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2019.

Japan will file official recommendation documents with the U.N. organization by Feb. 1.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, an advisory body to UNESCO, is expected to inspect the sites of the tumulus clusters around September this year and make recommendations around May 2019 on whether they should be added to the World Heritage list.

Based on the council's proposal, the World Heritage Committee will hold discussions at its meeting slated for summer 2019.

Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun comprises a total of 49 tumuli in the Mozu cluster in the city of Sakai and the Furuichi cluster straddling the cities of Habikino and Fujiidera.

The Mozu cluster includes the 486-meter-long tomb of Emperor Nintoku, the largest keyhole-shaped grave mound in Japan. Jiji Press