TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A group of governors is aiming to have Japan's hot spring culture added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2028, bringing recognition to the importance of the centuries-old practice of bathing in naturally heated water.

"I am convinced that the hot spring culture is equivalent" to the traditional making of sake and "shochu" distilled spirits, which was accepted onto the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization list in December, Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai, leader of the group, said at the outset of an online meeting held the same month to discuss lobbying for hot springs to be added.

The group, set up in November 2022, defines the culture of hot springs, or "onsen" in Japanese, as a "lifestyle" widely shared by the Japanese people. The mineral waters found at some 3,000 locations are a "gift of nature that has been healing the mind and body," it said.

Representing 44 of the country's 47 prefectures, the group is set to compile by March a survey of the current situation surrounding hot spring areas across the nation, including on the need for protection as cultural heritage.

It will then urge Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government to promote its campaign, hoping the move will contribute to the revitalization of the locations.

Efforts to list hot springs gained momentum after the sauna culture in Finland was inscribed as an intangible heritage in 2020, with a UNESCO committee calling it "an integral part of the lives of the majority of the Finnish population."

Japan has many entries on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, with traditional sake-brewing becoming the country's 23rd.