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Japan Boosts Fire Safety at Heritage Sites Post-Shuri Fire

3/9/2026

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Summary

Story summary

After the 2019 Shuri Castle fire, Japan launched a 2020 program to improve fire resistance at 107 key heritage buildings.
About 30% of prioritized cultural properties still lack upgrades.
Currently 64 sites have new fire defenses and seven are undergoing upgrades.
Hiroko Moriyama of the Agency for Cultural Affairs says measures for World Heritage sites go beyond basic firefighting, with advanced systems beyond extinguishers and alarms.

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Story summary

After the 2019 Shuri Castle fire, Japan launched a 2020 program to improve fire resistance at 107 key heritage buildings.
About 30% of prioritized cultural properties still lack upgrades.
Currently 64 sites have new fire defenses and seven are undergoing upgrades.
Hiroko Moriyama of the Agency for Cultural Affairs says measures for World Heritage sites go beyond basic firefighting, with advanced systems beyond extinguishers and alarms.