世界遺産候補選定見送り　今年度、新型コロナで―文化庁

　文化庁は２９日、国連教育科学文化機関（ユネスコ）の世界文化遺産登録を目指す国内候補の選定を、今年度は行わないと発表した。新型コロナウイルスの影響で、文化審議会での審議時間などが十分に確保できる見通しが立たなくなったという。
　例年、文化審議会は４月に国内候補の選定を開始し、７月末ごろ推薦を決定。政府は翌２月までにユネスコに推薦書を提出している。中国で６月から開催予定だったユネスコ世界遺産委員会が延期されたため、今年度は国内の手続きが始まっていなかった。（2020/06/29-17:38）

Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency said Monday it will refrain from recommending a site for UNESCO World Heritage designation in fiscal 2020.
   The Cultural Affairs Council will not have enough time to determine a candidate site due to the coronavirus pandemic, agency officials said.
   Usually, the council starts the candidate selection process in April and made a decision at the end of July. The Japanese government files its recommendation with UNESCO by the end of February the following year.
   But the domestic procedures for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2021, could not get started because a World Heritage Committee meeting, initially set to begin in China in late June, was put off.
   The council was to pick one out of three candidates recommenced by local governments: the complex of heritage gold and other mines on the island of Sado in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, Hikone Castle in the western prefecture of Shiga, and archaeological sites of ancient Asuka and Fujiwara capitals in the western prefecture of Nara.