The Environment Ministry has reorganized natural parks in the Sanriku coastal region into one national park as part of efforts to spur reconstruction of the area devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The Environment Ministry has reorganized natural parks in the Sanriku coastal region into one national park as part of efforts to spur reconstruction of the area devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
In an announcement May 24, the ministry said it will restore the natural surroundings of the area in northeastern Japan, with an emphasis on preserving the rias shoreline, for which the region is famous.
The combined national park, named Sanriku Fukko (reconstruction) National Park, stretches along the coastline from Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, to Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.
Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said the reorganization is a "first step" to creating a national park that will contribute to the reconstruction of the region devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The new park encompasses Rikuchukaigan National Park, which straddles Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, and Tanesashikaigan-Hashikamidake Prefectural Natural Park, a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls located in Aomori Prefecture.
The trail along the coast of the park will be rebuilt as the Michinoku Shiokaze (sea wind) trail.
The ministry also plans to incorporate Minami-Sanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park into the new park in 2014, along with three other prefectural natural parks, including Matsushima, in Miyagi Prefecture, at a later date.