Six parks in the disaster-stricken Tohoku region are to be reorganized into a single national park covering about 300 kilometers of coastline as a memorial to the devastation caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Environment Ministry officials said they hope the park along the Sanriku coast of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures will serve as a symbol of rebuilding efforts following the March 11 disaster.
Officials plan to set up hiking trails that could serve as evacuation routes in future disasters.
The park is tentatively named Sanriku reconstruction national park.
Eco-tours will be held to remind visitors of the extent of devastation caused by the quake and tsunami it spawned. Survivors will be on hand to offer first-hand accounts of the disaster.