South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held their fourth meeting in about six months on Tuesday, underscoring the need for greater cooperation between the historical Asian rivals amid global challenges, including the Iran war. Lee hosted Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, a southeastern South Korean city famous for its centuries-old traditional folk village, a Unesco World Heritage site. In January, the two met in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, an ancient...

UNESCO's advisory body has recommended that the Asuka and Fujiwara Palace Cities—a group of archaeological sites from Japan's Asuka period in Nara Prefecture—be inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site. The recommendation is expected to be formally approved at the World Heritage Committee meeting next month.

The Thousand-Armed Kannon at the temple of Tōshōdaiji in Nara is believed to have literally had 1,000 arms at the time of its creation, and its 953 arms extending in all directions are a striking feature of the image.

This charming depiction of the Buddha at birth can be found at Nara’s Tōdaiji temple, and is thought to date back to the eighth century.