The Japanese Ministry of Environment announced Feb. 27th a decision to designate the area surrounding three villages in the northern part of the island, Kunigami, Higashi and Ogimi, and the ocean areas around the villages, as a national park.

The total area of the new national park will be about 17,300 hectares.

The national government is scheduled to make an official resolution at the Central Environment Council in June, and post the notice in the official gazette in July this year.

The new national park will be the third national park in Okinawa Prefecture, and the first after the Kerama Islands National Park was designated in 2014.

The 7,800-hectare U.S. Military Northern Training Area will not be part of the new national park.

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