Mount Yuwandake on Amami-Oshima island is part of Amamigunto National Park in Kagoshima Prefecture. The Amami rabbit and many other indigenous species inhabit the mountain and nearby area. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Outlying isles in southwestern Japan with extremely rare species of animals and plants are expected to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage list this summer as the nation’s fifth such natural site.
A UNESCO advisory body called the International Union for Conservation of Nature recommended adding the islands of Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, the northern part of Okinawa Prefecture’s main island, and Iriomotejima island, to the list of natural World Heritage sites, the government said May 10.
Visitors watch a video featuring accounts of former members of the Himeyuri Student Corps at the renovated Himeyuri Peace Museum in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 12. (Minako Yoshimoto)
ITOMAN, Okinawa Prefecture A large painting of girls chatting and walking to the school gate through lush green leaves greets visitors at a renovated museum dedicated to female student nurses mobilized during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.
The Himeyuri Peace Museum here reopened on April 12 after staff members born after the war renewed exhibits to better convey the experiences of the Himeyuri (star lily) Student Corps to younger generations.
A painting of girls walking to the school gate through green leaves greets visitors to the renovated Himeyuri Peace Museum in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture. (Minako Yoshimoto)