Lake Biwa Canal Facilities proposed as Japan Treasures

Incorporating the most advanced civil engineering technology during the mid-Meiji period in Japan, the Lake Biwa canal facilities not only played key roles in water infrastructure and power generation, but also in irrigation and waterway transportation.

The council also proposed designating the Tower of the Sun, a structure in the city of Suita in the western prefecture of Osaka that was the symbol of the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka, and six other sites as important cultural properties.

The tower, designed by the late Japanese artist Taro Okamoto, was part of a pavilion on the event’s theme of “Progress and Harmony for Mankind.”