PART II Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture
Chapter 9. Toward a Culture-Communicating Society
Section 5. Protecting and Utilizing Cultural Properties
4. Conserving and Utilizing Historic Settlements and Streets
Municipalities designate settlements and streets that form historical settings, together with their environments, as preservation districts for groups of historic buildings. Upon application by municipalities, the government may select especially valuable districts as important preservation districts for groups of historic buildings. In July 1994 this status was granted to the Mitarai district of Yutakamachi, Hiroshima Prefecture, which flourished as a port town on a shipping route across the Inland Sea.