Hikone Castle chosen as Japan's World Heritage candidate

Japan has chosen Hikone Castle as its candidate^*1 for the World Heritage list^*2 this year. The Agency for Cultural Affairs, the part of the Japanese government that looks after culture and old buildings, said this on Thursday, September 3.

Hikone Castle is an old castle in Shiga Prefecture^*3, an area of Japan. On September 3, a group of experts^*4 from the Council for Cultural Affairs held a meeting. This council helps the Japanese government make decisions about culture. The experts study places that may become World Heritage sites^*5. At the meeting, they said that Hikone Castle should be Japan's candidate for this year.

The agency has put more information about the castle in documents on its website.

1. *1 candidate: a person or thing that is put forward so that it may be chosen
2. *2 World Heritage list: a list of the most important old places and natural places in the world
3. *3 Prefecture: one of the areas that Japan is divided into, a little like a state
4. *4 experts: people who know a lot about one subject
5. *5 World Heritage sites: places that are on the World Heritage list