Sea of Japan naming dispute - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The international name for the body of water which is bordered by Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

is disputed. The Japanese government supports the use of the name "Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

", while South Korea supports the name "East Sea", and North Korea supports the name "East Sea of Korea". Currently, most international maps and documents use either the name Sea of Japan (or equivalent translation) by itself, or include both the name Sea of Japan and East Sea, often with East Sea listed in parentheses or otherwise marked as a secondary name.

The involved countries (especially Japan and South Korea) have advanced a variety of arguments to support their preferred name(s). Many of the arguments revolve around determining when the name Sea of Japan became the common name. South Korea argues that historically the more common name was East Sea, Sea of Korea, or another similar variant. South Korea further argues that the name Sea of Japan did not become common until Korea was under Japanese rule

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....

, at which time it had no ability to influence international affairs. Japan argues that the name Sea of Japan has been the most common international name since at least the beginning of the 19th century, long before its occupation of Korea. Both sides have conducted studies of antiquarian maps, but the two countries have produced divergent research results. Additional arguments have been raised regarding the underlying geography of the sea as well as potential problems regarding the ambiguity of one name or the other.

Arguments

Both sides in the dispute have put forward a number of arguments to support their claims.

Arguments from Korea

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Korea, the name East Sea has been used in Korea for over 2,000 years, including in History of the Three Kingdoms

Samguk Sagi

Samguk Sagi is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The Samguk Sagi is written in Classical Chinese and its compilation was ordered by Goryeo's King Injong Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of...

(三國史記, 1145), the monument of King Gwanggaeto, and "Map of Eight Provinces of Korea" (八道總圖, 1530). The first documented map to name the area the Sea of Japan was the world map drawn by the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci

Matteo Ricci

Matteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....

in China (1602). No Japanese record published up to the late-18th century indicated any name for the body of water. Furthermore, South Korea has pointed out that a few 19th-century Japanese maps referred to the sea as the Sea of Joseon (Korea), including the "Simplified Map of Japan's Periphery" (日本邊界略圖, 1809) and "New World Map" (新製輿地全圖, 1844). South Korea argues there was no standard name prior to Japan's military expansion in the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Additionally, it specifically states that the name Sea of Japan was not widely used, even in Japan, as late as the mid 19th century. Thus, South Korea argues that the current name reflects active promotion by Japan during a time when Korea could not represent its interests internationally.

Arguments from Japan

The Japanese government claims that the name Sea of Japan was internationally established by the early 19th century, during a period in which Japan was under an isolationist policy (Sakoku

Sakoku

was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...

). Accordingly, they state, Japan could not have, at that time, had an influence on the international community regarding the naming of the sea.

Surveys of antiquarian maps

The comparison of surveys of antiquarian maps by the government of Japan and South Korea
Surveyed by	Japan				Korea	Japan				Korea	Japan					Korea	Japan						Korea	Japan	Japan						Korea
Century	16th century					17th century					18th century						19th century							Unknown	Total
Surveyed in	US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	DE Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	Total	Total	US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	DE Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	Total	Total	US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	DE Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	RU Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	Total	Total	US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	DE Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	RU Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	UK United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	Total	Total	FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	DE Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	RU Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	UK United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	Total	Total
Sea of Japan	1	0	1	2	-	3	14	5	22	17	47	24	23	2	96	36	1059	206	487	27	50	1829	69	10	1110	254	516	29	50	1959	122
East Sea	0	0	3	3	-	0	0	0	0	39	5	0	7	1	13	341	1	0	3	0	0	4	60	0	6	0	13	1	0	20	440
Sea of Korea	0	2	0	2		2	4	2	8		94	49	159	5	307		92	6	37	4	8	147		7	188	68	198	9	8	471
Oriental Sea	0	0	3	3		4	20	14	38		14	4	57	-	75		2	0	3	-	-	5		8	20	32	77	-	-	129
Sea of China	3	5	12	25	16	11	36	18	86	28	8	6	8	1	56	10	0	5	1	0	-	32	-	4	22	56	39	1	-	203	54
Others	0	5	5	25	13	3	36	18	86	41	17	6	16	-	56	80	22	5	4	-	-	32	12	4	42	56	43	-	-	203	146
No entry and not determined	32	-	44	76	13	83	-	83	166	41	116	-	152	4	272	80	109	-	120	5	-	234	12	-	340	-	399	9	-	748	146
Total	36	7	68	111	29	106	74	140	320	125	301	83	422	13	819	467	1285	217	655	36	58	2251	141	29	1728	410	1285	49	58	3530	762

To provide evidence for the date when Sea of Japan came to be used internationally, both South Korea and Japan have undertaken surveys of various historical maps.

South Korea surveyed ancient maps archived in the British Library, the Cambridge University Library, the University of Southern California (USC) East Asian Map Collection, the U.S. Library of Congress, the National Library of Russia, and the French National Library examined 762 maps. They found that 440 maps had used Sea of Korea (Corea), Oriental Sea, or East Sea, 122 had used Sea of Japan, and 200 had used other terms.

Japan has conducted a number of surveys of different collections. Their study of 1,332 maps from the Berlin Library found that 279 used Sea of Korea, Oriental Sea, or East Sea (or some combination thereof), 579 used Sea of Japan exclusively, 47 used China Sea (with or without other names), 33 used another term, and 384 used no term. A study of the Struck collection (a collection of antiquarian maps owned by a European map collector) found that, out of 79 maps, 35 used Sea of Japan, nine used the Sea of Korea, two used Oriental Sea, and 33 were unmarked. A survey of four Russian libraries and document archives found that, of 51 maps, 29 used Sea of Japan, eight used Sea of Korea, one used Korea Strait, one used East Sea, one used Sea of China, and 11 used no name. A survey of 1,213 maps from the U.S. Library of Congress that gave a name for this body of water found that 87 percent used Sea of Japan, eight percent used Sea of Korea, five percent used other terms, and none used Oriental Sea or East Sea. Meanwhile, a survey of 58 maps from the British Library and the University of Cambridge that gave a name for this body of water found that 86 percent used Sea of Japan, 14 percent used Sea of Korea, and none used Oriental Sea, East Sea, or other terms. A survey of 215 maps in the French National Library that gave a name for this body of water found that 95 percent used Sea of Japan, three percent used Sea of Korea, none used Oriental Sea or East Sea, and two percent used other terms.

Geographical arguments

Japan argues that, the name Sea of Japan has been and should be used because the marginal sea

Marginal sea

The term marginal sea has differing meanings. In one sense the term is equivalent to territorial waters. In another sense the term indicates a partially enclosed sea adjacent to or widely open to the open ocean, but bounded by submarine ridges...

is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Japanese Archipelago

Japanese Archipelago

The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...

. Korea argues that the adjective "East" describes its geographical position east of the Asian continent, although it is west of Japan and south of Russia. It states that this is analogous to the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

, which lies north of the European continent, but west of Scandinavian countries and east of Great Britain.
However Koreans call the sea on their east side the East Sea (동해, donghae), on their south side the South Sea (남해, Namhae), and on their west side the West Sea (서해, Seohae).

Arguments relating to ambiguity

The Japanese Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japanese Coast Guard has claimed that the name East Sea is unsuitable as an international geographic name, because the local name for a variety of seas can be translated into English as East Sea. Examples include Dōng Hǎi (东海), the Chinese name for the East China Sea

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

; Biển Đông, the Vietnamese name for the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

; and the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

, which means East Sea in several European languages such as German (Ostsee), Swedish (Östersjön) and Finnish (Itämeri). In addition, is not the Sea of Japan but the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

in the Japanese context. The regions on the east coast of Japan were named accordingly as Tōkaidō region

Tokaido (region)

The was originally an old Japanese geographical region that made up the gokishichidō system and was situated along the southeastern edge of Honshū, its name literally meaning 'Eastern Sea Way'....

and Tōkai region

Tokai region

The is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name means "East sea" and comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes...

Position of international bodies

The main two international organizations which have been involved in the naming dispute are the International Hydrographic Organization

International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...

and the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization is an organization that coordinates with member countries over hydrographic

Hydrography

Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...

issues. One of the organization's functions is to help set international standards on the naming and delineation of nautical regions. In 1929, the organization (then called the International Hydrographic Bureau) published "IHO Special Publication 23" (IHO SP 23), which established the name of the sea as Sea of Japan; however, at that time, Korea could not participate in the IHO because it was under Japanese rule. South Korea officially joined the IHO in 1957.

In 1974, IHO released Technical Resolution A.4.2.6. This resolution stated that:

It is recommended that where two or more countries share a given geographical feature (such as a bay, a strait, channel or archipelago) under different names, they should endeavor to reach agreement on a single name for the feature concerned. If they have different official languages and cannot agree on a common name form, it is recommended that the name forms of each of the languages in question should be accepted for charts and publications unless technical reasons prevent this practice on small scale charts.

South Korea has argued that this resolution is relevant to the debate about the Sea of Japan and implies that both names should be used; Japan, however, argues that the resolution does not apply to the Sea of Japan, because it does not specify this body of water and only applies to geographical features for which sovereignty is shared between two or more countries.

The IHO agreed to conduct a survey available evidence in 2011, and is expected to release results at the end of 2011. Previously, South Korea had been pushing the IHO to recommend only using the term East Sea, but announced on 2 May 2011, that it now preferred the gradual approach of using both names now, and eventually dropping the Sea of Japan name.

On 8 August 2011, a spokesman for the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

stated that the United States Board on Geographic Names

United States Board on Geographic Names

The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...

considered the official name of the sea to be "Sea of Japan." According to Yonhap

Yonhap

Yonhap News Agency is South Korea's largest news agency. It is a publicly-funded company, and based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap supplies domestic, foreign news and other information to newspaper, TV broadcast and other media in South Korea.-History:...

, the US has officially recommended to the IHO that "Sea of Japan" remain as the official name for the sea. In response to this failure of the Korean campaign, Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan

Kim Sung-hwan (politician)

Kim Sung-Hwan is the Republic of Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His previous positions include Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs and National Security .- External links :* at the ministry’s website, with links to...

suggested advocating other historical names, such as "Sea of Korea".

United Nations

While the United Nations has never directly addressed the issue of establishing an official, standardized name for the sea, several resolutions and statements by the UN have had relevance to the topic. Japan joined the United Nations in 1956, while South and North Korea both joined in 1991.

In 1977, the third UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) adopted Resolution III/20, entitled "Names of Features beyond a Single Sovereignty". The resolution recommended that "when countries sharing a given geographical feature do not agree on a common name, it should be a general rule of cartography that the name used by each of the countries concerned will be accepted. A policy of accepting only one or some of such names while excluding the rest would be inconsistent as well as inexpedient in practice." As with IHO Technical Resolution A.4.2.6, South Korea and Japan disagree about whether or not this policy applies to the Sea of Japan.

In 1992, during the 1992 Sixth UNCSGN, the South Korean government, in their first time participating in UNCSGN, requested that the name of the sea be determined through consultation, which the North Korean representative concurred with. The Japanese representative stated that the name of the Sea of Japan had already been accepted worldwide and that any change would introduce confusion. The conference recommended that the parties work together on the issue outside of the conference.

In 1998, South Korea raised the issue again at the Seventh UNCSGN. Japan, however, opposed the method by which the South Korean government proposed the issue, arguing that they had not followed the proper procedure for doing so. Following some debate, Korea withdrew the issue, and instead recommended that the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names work so that a resolution could be submitted to the Eighth UNSCGN conference. The president of the conference urged that Japan, South Korea, and North Korea work towards a mutually acceptable agreement.

At the Eighth UNCSGN in 2002, South Korea and Japan presented a number of papers to the conference regarding their positions on the naming issue. South Korea asked for a resolution to adjudicate the name, while Japan asked that the name be decided through resolution outside of the conference. No resolution was passed, and the Committee again urged the countries to develop a mutually agreeable solution. The Chairman further noted that standardization could only occur after consensus had been reached. The same situation occurred at the Ninth conference in 2007. South Korea and North Korea both proposed a resolution by the UNCSGN, while Japan expressed a desire to settle the matter outside of the conference, and the Committee urged the members to seek a mutual agreement.

On 23 April 2004, the United Nations affirmed in a written document to the Japanese government that it will continue using the name Sea of Japan in its official documents. However, it agreed to leave the topic open for further discussion. In a letter to South Korea, it was explained that the UN was not determining the validity of either name, but wished to use the term most widely used until the parties resolved the disagreement. The letter further stated, "The use of an appellation by the Secretariat based on the practice is without prejudice to any negotiations or agreements between the interested parties and should not be interpreted as advocating or endorsing any party's position, and can in no way be invoked by any party in support of a particular position in the matter."

Response of media and publishers

A number of maps, encyclopedias, and other publications have switched to using both names. For example, the Manual of Style of the National Geographic Society

National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...

states that disputed place-names in international waters or jointly controlled by two or more countries should use the conventional name first with other names following in parentheses. As such, their policy on this sea states that "The internationally accepted name is Sea of Japan, although Korea prefers East Sea. When scale permits, Geographic maps show the alternative name East Sea in parentheses after Sea of Japan."

In 2006, Google put both names on Google Earth

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...

, using East Sea near the Korean coast and Sea of Japan near the Japanese coast. In the 2007 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica

Encyclopædia Britannica

The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...

, the primary article is called "Sea of Japan". A secondary article called "East Sea" notes "see Japan, Sea of." On the encyclopedia's map of Japan and other Asia maps, Sea of Japan appears as the primary label and East Sea appears as a secondary label in parentheses. However, on the map of Korea the name East Sea appears as the primary label and Sea of Japan appears as a secondary label in parentheses. Other examples of publishers who use similar systems include Microsoft Encarta, the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, and About.com.

Other countries

Russia calls this sea Япо́нское мо́ре (Yapónskoye móre, Japanese Sea). Chinese government websites exclusively use the name 日本海 (rìběnhǎi, Japan Sea).
In 2003, the French Defense Ministry issued nautical maps that included both terms Sea of Japan and East Sea. It reverted to Sea of Japan as a single name in the map issued in 2004.

As of August 2006, the United States Board on Geographic Names

United States Board on Geographic Names

The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...

(BGN) continues to advocate the use of Sea of Japan without qualification in U.S. government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

publications. The World Factbook

The World Factbook

The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official paper copy version is available from the National Technical Information Service and the Government Printing Office...

published by the Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

follows the BGN's guidance.

Compromise names

On 18 November 2006, during the APEC summit in Hanoi, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun

Roh Moo-hyun

Roh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...

informally proposed to the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe

Shinzo Abe

was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...

that the sea be called instead the “Sea of Peace” or "Sea of Friendship". However, in January 2007 Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki

Yasuhisa Shiozaki

is a Japanese politician who served as Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe until August 2007.Born in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, he was an AFS exchange student in high school, graduated with a liberal arts degree from the University of Tokyo and attended the John F. Kennedy School...

opposed the idea saying there was "No need to change name of Sea of Japan".

Arguments

Arguments from Korea

Arguments from Japan

Surveys of antiquarian maps

Geographical arguments

Arguments relating to ambiguity

Position of international bodies

International Hydrographic Organization

United Nations

Response of media and publishers

Other countries

Compromise names

See also