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Old machiya houses in Japan's Kyoto given new lease of life by niche loans

For generations, artisans and merchants in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto lived in thousands of traditional "machiya" townhouses that are steadily disappearing or falling into disrepair.

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More World Heritage sites vandalized in Japan

Oily stains were discovered at Kyoto 's 1,200-year-old Kiyomizu Buddhist temple on Monday, another of a series of vandalism acts that happened recently in Japan, local media reported.