INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Marine Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said the government will not sell the island, but invited Japan to manage for tourism and name the island in Indonesia.
Luhut in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday (9/1/2017), said that Sakura State requires a region or island in Indonesia that can be used for resting place among Japanese elderly.
"Japan asks, 'Can we have one particular area for' elderly '(elderly)?' I said, please make a village there, but will never sell the island, "he said.
The former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Polhukam said Japan was even interested in making Morotai Island, North Sulawesi, as one of the targets of the plan.
It also offers other exotic islands to be managed by the Japanese, includes being named by the Sakura country.
According to him, there are still about 4,000 islands in Indonesia that do not yet have a name. However, naming the Indonesian island by Japan does not mean the government sells the island to foreigners.
"There are 4,000 islands with no names, you can give names, giving 4000 names of the island is not easy, the important thing is that the island is registered by the Indonesian government," he said.
According to him, there is no problem if foreign parties manage or give the name of an island. He analogized it as a restaurant that can be given according to the desire of the managers.
"What is a name, the important is the island belongs to Indonesia, stamped by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and follow the rules of Indonesia," he said. The government continues to make efforts to boost tourist arrivals to Indonesia.
Tourism becomes one of the leading sectors that can boost the economy and absorb labor quickly. The hope is, in 2019 foreign tourists visit to grow to 20 million people per year.
