Japan`s focus on Christian persecution helped green light UNESCO site
(WorldNews Japan)

The dozen sites related to the persecution of Japan`s `Hidden Christians` have been awarded World Heritage status largely due to the fact that they show how Japanese believers protected their faith at all costs, experts say. UNESCO`s World Heritage Committee has recognized that the `Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region` -- 12 locations including small villages where people secretly practiced Christianity -- `bear unique testimony to a distinctive religious tradition.` A UNESCO advisory board offered suggestions to the Japanese government that led to the selection of the places as World Heritage sites on June 30. Christianity was introduced to Japan in 1549 by Saint Francis Xavier, a...