In July 2015, the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining" were inscribed as cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
   The sites are comprised of industrial heritage properties proving that, in a very short period of 50 years from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Japan succeeded in developing its original technology suitable for its domestic situation and achieving rapid industrialization, by combining its newly acquired knowledge of advanced Western technology with traditional skills in Japan.
   Four facilities related to the Imperial Steel Works, Japan, are included in the World Heritage site components: the First Head Office, completed in 1899; the Repair Shop, Japan's oldest steel-frame building, which has been in operation for more than 110 years; the Former Forge Shop, which is now used as the historical archives of the Steel Works; and the Onga River Pumping Station, still in operation in Nakama City.
   Because these facilities are located at sites of the still operating Steel Works, they are not open to the public. Only the First Head Office, however, can be observed from a viewing space, where you can see explanation panels and acquire information from permanently stationed volunteer guides.