The World Heritage Convention (WHC) is undeniably one of the most successful projects of UNESCO. Since its adoption in 1972, UNESCO has nominated 830 properties with having outstanding universal value as world heritage. The preservation of these world heritage sites, however, has not always been smooth. A lot depends on how local legislation has been elaborated.

In Japan, for example, the Law for the Protection of Cultural Property does not protect the buffer zone. The operational guidelines to the WHC require that a buffer zone would be determined whenever it is necessary for the proper conservation of the cultural or natural property. In order to fulfill this requirement, Japan has developed the practice of recourse to various laws regulating areas for purposes other than the conservation of its cultural value. Hence, the legal basis for the buffer zone in Japan is very fragile.

Related, the concept of the buffer zone is not legally elaborated, due to which it is not clear what is expected by the preservation of the buffer zone. Under current practice, it fully depends upon the goal of each law separately. We might expect that what is designated as the buffer zone will be regulated by laws to preserve natural resources or the construction of large size factories. If these laws would be amended for reasons, which have nothing to do with the protection of cultural property, the protection of the buffer zone will be weakened.

The construction of a tall apartment building in the neighborhood of the Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima exemplifies the urgent need to rethink the Japanese approach towards the concept of the buffer zone. To reach this goal, this symposium has been set up to learn from experiences in other countries and use them to draft a recommendation.

Toshiyuki Kono
Professor of Law
Kyushu University