Registration on the World Heritage List

In September 1992, when Japan signed the World Heritage Convention, many in Hiroshima immediately voiced the opinion that the Atomic Bomb Dome should be registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In response, the Hiroshima City Council adopted the Opinion Paper Seeking Registration on the World Heritage List for the Atomic Bomb Dome, a request the City then presented to the national government.

Initially, the national government opposed the idea, stating that "the Atomic Bomb Dome is not protected under the domestic Cultural Properties Protection Act, so it lacks a vital prerequisite for nomination as a World Heritage Site. Furthermore, it is not old enough to be designated a National Cultural Asset."

To counter this attitude, in June 1993, citizens groups formed the Committee to Promote the Atomic Bomb Dome as a World Heritage Site (or, the Atomic Bomb Dome Committee), which launched a nationwide signature campaign to petition the Japanese National Diet to nominate the Atomic Bomb Dome as a World Heritage Site. With 1,653,996 signatures collected, this petition was accepted by the House of Councilors in January 1994, and by the House of Representatives that June. 

As a result of this movement, in March 1995, the national government revised the criteria for historic site designation. That June, the Dome received designation as a historic site, and in September, Japan formally submitted its nomination to the World Heritage Committee, requesting registration on the World Heritage List. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) evaluated the nomination, and in December 1996, at the World Heritage Committee Meeting in Mexico, the decision was made to register the Atomic Bomb Dome on the World Heritage List under the English heading, "Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)."