REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan has given the green light to Japan to manage an Indonesian island as a rest area for its senior citizens. "Japan has asked if they could be allowed to manage a certain island for its elderly persons. I told them it is okay to build a village there, but we will never sell it," he said at a press briefing here Monday.

Japan is eying Morotai Island in North Maluku province to develop it into a rest area for its elderly persons, Luhut said. He also offered Japan the opportunity to manage other Indonesian exotic islands and name the islands themselves.

Also read:  deserted islands in Indonesia" href="http://en.republika.co.id/berita/en/national-politics/17/01/09/ojip66414-govt-to-open-opportunities-for-foreigners-to-manage-deserted-islands-in-indonesia" target="_blank">Govt to open opportunities for foreigners to manage deserted islands in Indonesia

Some 4,000 Indonesian islands have not been named, he said adding that allowing Japan to name the islands does not mean the Indonesian government is selling the islands to foreign countries. "Some 4,000 islands do not have names. I told them they can name the islands themselves. It is not easy to name 4,000 islands. What is important is that the Indonesian government has registered them," he said.

It will not be a problem if foreign investors manage and name the islands, he said. He likened naming the islands to naming restaurants according to their owners' desire. "What is a name for? The important thing is that the islands have been registered as Indonesia's islands," he said.

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