6 Comments

Japan needs to expand the areas of national parks similar to the UK. There are plenty of places that still need protection from development.

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Now that's a good idea. I am particularly sensitive to exactly what you are suggesting as I live in Kyushu where it seems like every year we have more and more "mega solar" farms on the sides of mountains. While I am all for renewable energy, it seems that there should be more protected wilderness to prevent huge gaping eyesores like a solar farm built on the side of a mountain from spoiling the natural environment.

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That’s very much the case in Chiba as well. Establishing national parks should improve the economy by encouraging sustainable development along with tourism and other bonuses- and actually improve property prices and grow population. I would dream that a prefectural government could wake up to this idea rather than focusing on short term gains of construction. That said, I really wouldn’t know where to start..

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Thank you for reading and adding your perspective. If you want to get involved, I suspect there is some sort of public committee or private group in the area that might be interested. Also, my personal recommendation would be to start small with a limited scope (e.g. a neighborhood association). After achieving small wins, it should be possible to scale up later.

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Mark, you're always publishing stories and bringing forward information I don't see elsewhere. Very interesting - and thank you very much!

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That's a very nice compliment. Many thanks. I have always liked national parks, and Japan has a wonderful collection of them.

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