The Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining (明治日本の産業革命遺産 製鉄・鉄鋼、造船、石炭産業 Meiji nihon no sangyōkakumei isan: seitetsu, tekkō, zōsen, sekitan sangyō) is a world heritage site, comprising 23 components around Japan.
During the Bakumatsu and Meiji eras (the second half of the 19th century), Japan transformed from a feudal state to a more modern society. The Emperor Meiji realized that Japan needed to keep up technologically with the West in order not to become a colony. This resulted in an industrial revolution, and Japan is widely regarded as the first non-Western country to industrialize. This site, inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2015 comprises some of the best preserved and most important places from that time.
