(Cultural Affairs Agency)
The government said Friday it has picked a pair of cities known for ninja, Japan's feudal mercenaries, among 17 newly designated assortments of cultural assets aimed at boosting tourism ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
The cities straddling the border of central and western Japan -- Iga in Mie Prefecture and Koka in Shiga Prefecture -- known for the two most famous ninja clans, respectively, were included in the third batch of "Japan Heritage" properties, the Cultural Affairs Agency said.
The government seeks to recognize tangible and intangible cultural assets in regional areas as "Japan Heritage" under a project launched in 2015 to attract more domestic and overseas tourists to revitalize local economies. It groups such assets based on historical stories and traditions to make it easier to appeal to visitors.
A set of cities and towns known as ports for Kitamaebune cargo ships which sailed along the Sea of Japan coast during Japan's Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods was also added to the list.
Among other newly added assets are Japan's northernmost silk-producing area in Yamagata Prefecture and the Yabakei Gorge in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
The new certification of 17 sets of cultural assets this year brought the total number of designation sites to 54 and the agency aims to choose 100 sites by 2020 when the country hosts the Tokyo Games.
The agency offers financial assistance for local governments to launch multilingual websites and provide training for volunteer guides among other measures to attract visitors.
The third batch of Japan Heritage assets was chosen from a total of 79 proposals from local municipalities earlier this year.
