There are seven species of sea turtle in the world, and five of
them can be seen in Japan.
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The Loggerhead Turtle
nests in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and the Nansei Islands. |


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The Green
Turtle nests in the Nansei and Ogasawara Islands. |
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The Hawksbill Turtle occasionally nests in the Ryukyu
Archipelago. |


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The Leatherback and
Olive Ridley Turtles do not nest in Japan, but they pass by Japan
offshore. |
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The
importance of Japan to sea turtles |
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Sea turtles are
generally creatures of the tropics, and the importance of Japan to turtles
was not previously realized. However, recent research has shown that Japan
and its coast are essential to sea turtles. |
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First of all, regarding the Loggerhead, Southern Japan is the only
Loggerhead breeding ground in the North Pacific. If this breeding ground
is destroyed, the Loggerhead will disappear from the North
Pacific. |
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To the Green Turtle and
the Hawksbill, Japan is also valuable as a breeding ground, but that's not
all. For these species, the Japanese coast is an important habitat while
they grow to maturity. This is clear from the fact that there are many
young Green Turtles and Hawksbills in the oceans around
Japan. |