Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to be designated 'Special Historic Site'
The Japanese government will designate the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, as a Special Historic Site that has especially high value for preservation.
It would be the first such designation for a structure built since the Meiji Period, which started in the latter 19th century.
A panel at Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency recommended the designation on Friday.
The brick building was erected in 1915 and served as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall. It partially survived the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.
Also called Genbaku Dome, the structure is already designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The building was only about 160 meters from ground zero, but the shell of the dome miraculously survived the bombing while inner parts of the building burned down.
The panel said it regards the structure as having extremely high value as a symbol of disaster from the first-ever atomic bombing in history, which is preserved in the same state as immediately after the explosion.
The most recent monument designated a Special Historic Site to date is Goryokaku, a western-style fort in Hokkaido, which was completed in the late Edo Period in the 19th Century.
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