Area 136.2 km² | Established September 15, 2016 | |
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Location Yanbaru, Okinawa, Japan | ||
Yanbaru National Park (やんばる国立公園, Yanbaru Kokuritsu Kōen) is a national park in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2016, it is located in and around the forested region of Yanbaru at the northern end of Okinawa Island. The park comprises a land area of 13,622 ha (33,660 acres) in the villages of Kunigami, Ōgimi, and Higashi together with 3,670 ha (9,100 acres) of the surrounding waters. The day of establishment, 15 September, coincides with the anniversary of the 1983 discovery of the endangered endemic Yanbaru Long-armed Scarab Beetle (Cheirotonus jambar) (ヤンバルテナガコガネ).
Future plans
Future extension of the Park is contingent upon the reversion of land currently occupied by the US military as the Northern Training Area. The northern part of Okinawa Island that corresponds with Yanbaru was in 2016 submitted for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the serial nomination Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern part of Okinawa Island and Iriomote Island.