Japan Press Weekly

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2012 November 14 - 20 [ENVIRONMENT]

Don’t concrete over world heritage in Nara: JCP

Japanese Communist Party House of Representatives member Miyamoto Takeshi on November 13 urged the government to halt a concrete paving project in the world heritage-listed Heijo Palace site in Nara City.

The concrete paving work was suddenly started last month in a 45,000-spuare-meter area in the south of the Former Imperial Audience Hall without giving prior notice to local residents.

Miyamoto and members of the JCP Nara Prefectural Committee made the representation to the Land Ministry and the Cultural Affairs Agency, warning that buried cultural properties could be damaged by the work. They criticized the government for failing to obtain the consent of local residents as 23,000 signatures have been collected so far opposing the concrete paving work.

In response to their request, officials of the two government agencies admitted that impact on groundwater quality had not been assessed prior to the commencement of the work.


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>Nara residents strive to block plan to concrete over world heritage site [October 28, 2012]