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2Fr. Toshiaki Koso, S.J.Former Chancellor of Sophia School Corporation Seiichi KondoFormer Japanese Government Commissioner of Cultural AffairsHidden Christian Artifacts Designated asWorld Heritage SiteUNESCO values coexistence of religionsIn June 2018, the Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region were inscribed onto the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. These artifacts, comprising 12 components in four period classifica-tions, compose the 22nd Japanese entry into the register. Seiichi Kondo, Former Japanese Govern-ment Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, who has long been involved in cultural administration, and Fr. Toshiaki Koso, S.J., the former Chancellor of Sophia School Corporation and pre-eminent researcher of hidden Christians in Japan, discuss the designation’s significance. Koso: The Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region were designated part of the World Heritage by UNESCO in June 2018. For you, Mr. Kondo, as someone who has long been engaged in the work of UNESCO and also served as the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, I would like to ask you first, what is the history of World Heritage and what does it mean? Kondo: A World Heritage site is a “shared heritage of hu-manity” that has been recognized as being of Outstand-ing Universal Value (OUV). The notion is based on the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. Sites are selected by the Japan Has Broadened the Concept of World Heritage128647© Yuichi Higurashi© Churches in Nagasaki Information Centre 201916