ABSTRACT
The role of local communities as an actor of heritage management is becoming increasingly important. Drawing on Japan’s Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region, which were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018, this chapter examines the ways in which the everyday activities of local residents for sustainability of the community lead to the conservation of heritage. Analysing the practice of preserving heritage while maintaining local communities by making use of a World Heritage site, it illustrates a shift of managerial paradigm from participatory governance (i.e. where the private sectors participate in the management led by the public sector) towards active management by local residents (i.e. where management is run wholly by local residents’ initiative).
