:Sea of Japan naming dispute

Image:Matteo Ricci Far East 1602 Larger.jpg by Matteo Ricci in 1602 describing the sea as the Sea of Japan]]

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

According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the name East Sea (Donghae(동해)) can be found in various historical records produced in the span of over 2,000 years, including the History of the Three Kingdoms (1145),{{Cite news |url=https://www.koreaworldtimes.com/topics/news/8195/|script-title=ja:トンヘ（東海）の呼称歴史は2000年？ 2千年前発祥説が多い韓国|newspaper=KoreaWorldTimes |date=2020-11-23|language=ja|access-date=2021-09-27}} the monument of King Gwanggaeto (414), and "Map of Eight Provinces of Korea" ({{Langx|ko|八道總圖|label=none}}, 1530).{{cite web|title=East Sea|url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/political/hotissues/eastsea/index.jsp

|publisher=South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade|year=2010 |access-date=21 November 2010}} According to such records, the name East Sea is almost 1,700 years older than the first documented world map to name the area the Sea of Japan, the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu (坤輿萬國全圖), which was drawn by the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci in China (1602). No Japanese record published up to the late-18th century indicated any name for the body of water.{{cite web|title=Naming of the East Sea|url=http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|publisher=Northeast Asian History Foundation|year=2007|access-date=22 November 2010|archive-date=15 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815174553/http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|url-status=dead}} Furthermore, South Korea has pointed out that Japan itself recognized the sea as Sea of Joseon (Korea) not Sea of Japan since some 18th and 19th-century Japanese maps referred to the sea as Chōsenkai (朝鮮海, literally Sea of Joseon), including the {{Nihongo|Simplified Map of Japan's Periphery|日本邊界略圖|4=1809}}, Map of Asia (亞細亞全圖, 1794) which was drawn by Katsuragawa Hoshu (桂川甫周) and the {{Nihongo|New World Map|新製輿地全圖|4=1844}}. Additionally, it specifically states that the name Sea of Japan was not widely used, even in Japan, as late as the mid 19th century.{{cite web|title=Legitimacy for Restoring the Name East Sea|url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/political/images/res/east_sea.pdf|publisher=South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade|date=May 2009 |access-date=28 September 2010}} Moreover, South Korea argues that it was unable to present its case for the name 'East Sea' internationally because it was under Japan's colonial rule and in the midst of the Korean War.{{cite web|title=Recent Changes in Geographical Names of Korean Cities and other Developments|url=https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/ungegn/session-20/working-papers/working-paper-48.pdf|work=Working Paper 48 of the UNGEGN Twentieth Session|publisher=United Nations|date=17–28 January 2000|access-date=22 November 2010}} In 1992, the name "East Sea" was agreed upon as English name for the sea in South Korea and claimed by the country for the sea during its participation in the U.N. Conference on Standardization of Geographical Names.{{Cite web|date=2010-05-23|title=[East Sea (1)] East Sea/Sea of Japan, what is the problem?|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100520000904|access-date=2021-03-29|website=The Korea Herald|language=en}}

The Japanese government claims that the name Sea of Japan had been internationally used since the 17th century and established by the early 19th century, during which Japan was under an isolationist policy (Sakoku) of the Tokugawa shogunate that restricted cultural exchange and commerce with foreign countries except China and the Netherlands until 1854.{{cite web|title=Issue of naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in the Russian Federation) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/study-6.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|year=2010 |access-date=22 November 2010}}{{cite web | url = http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/nihonkai/position_eng.htm | title = Japanese Basic Position on the Naming of the "Japan Sea" | publisher = Japan Coast Guard | date = 1 March 2005 | access-date = 22 November 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110524092704/http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/nihonkai/position_eng.htm | archive-date = 24 May 2011 | df = dmy-all }} Accordingly, they state, Japan could not have, at that time, had an influence on the international community regarding the naming of the sea.

The invention of the marine chronometer in the late 18th century enabled Western explorers, such as Jean-François de Galaup from France, William Robert Broughton from Britain, and Adam Johann von Krusenstern (Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern) from Russia, to measure time and longitudes on the sea precisely and map the detailed shape of the Sea of Japan. Krusenstern was an admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe.{{cite book |author=Adam Johann von Krusenstern |title=Voyage Round the World |year=1813 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SgXVHAAACAAJ }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} According to Japanese records, it was Krusenstern who popularized the name "Mer du Japon" (Sea of Japan) in the West. In his work "Reise um die Welt in den Jahren" (1812), he wrote, "People also call this sea area the Sea of Korea, but because only a small part of this sea touches the Korean coast, it is better to name it the Sea of Japan." The original book was published in St. Petersburg in German and Russian, translated into Dutch, French, Swedish, Italian, and English, and distributed widely among Europe. As a result, the international name of the sea changed from no name to the Sea of Japan, on the maps drawn by countries other than Japan or Korea during the 17th to 20th centuries. Thus, the Japanese side argues that the South Koreans misunderstand the history of the name.

File:Delisle - Carte d'Asie (Compagnieland).jpg

File:Mer Orientale 1700.jpg

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.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 2004, 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. South Korean researchers examined 762 maps. They found that 440 maps had used Sea of Korea (Corea), Oriental Sea/East Sea, 122 had used Sea of Japan, and 200 had used other terms.{{cite web|title=Naming of the East Sea|url=http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|publisher=Northeast Asian History Foundation|year=2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815174553/http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|archive-date=15 August 2011|access-date=2 September 2013}} In the French language, the word orientale includes both the meaning of "eastern" related to compass direction and the meaning of "oriental", the Asiatic region. The same ambiguity is present in the Russian language, with both "eastern" and "oriental" indicated by one word.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

File:Chikyu zenzu.JPG. The sea is described as "Inland Sea of Japan" (日本内海) and the Pacific Ocean is described as "East Sea of Japan" (日本東海)]]

From 2003 to 2008, Japan conducted a number of surveys of different collections. In 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan published their conclusions; they found that among 1,332 maps from the Berlin Library, 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 other term, and 384 used no term.{{cite web|title=The Issue of the Naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in Germany)|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/study-7f.html|work=SEA OF JAPAN|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|year=2010|access-date=15 October 2010}} The ministry said the Struck collection (a collection of antiquarian maps owned by a European map collector) showed that out of 79 maps, 35 used Sea of Japan, 9 used the Sea of Korea, 2 used Oriental Sea, and 33 were unmarked. It also reported that among four Russian libraries and document archives holding 51 maps, 29 used Sea of Japan, 8 used Sea of Korea, 1 used Korea Strait, 1 used East Sea, 1 used Sea of China, and 11 used no name.{{cite web|title=Issue of naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in the Russian Federation)|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/study-6.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|year=2010|access-date=15 October 2010}} Among 1,213 maps from the U.S. Library of Congress, the ministry said, ones that gave a name for this body of water showed that 87 percent used Sea of Japan, 8 percent used Sea of Korea, 5 percent used other terms, and none used Oriental Sea or East Sea.{{cite web|title=Sea of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/pamph0903.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|date=February 2009|access-date=24 August 2010}} Similarly, the ministry said that 58 maps from the British Library and the University of Cambridge showed 86 percent used Sea of Japan, 14 percent used Sea of Korea, and none used Oriental Sea, East Sea, or other terms. The ministry said that they looked at 1,485 maps in the French National Library. They reported that 95 percent of 215 French maps used Sea of Japan.

Japan argues that, the name Sea of Japan has been and should be used because the marginal sea is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Japanese Archipelago.{{cite web|title=Sea of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/pamph0208.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|date=August 2002|access-date=21 November 2010}} 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, which lies north of the European continent, but west of Scandinavian countries and east of Great Britain.

File:East Seas in East Asia.png

The Japanese Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japanese Coast Guard has claimed that the name East Sea is confusing and 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; Biển Đông, the Vietnamese name for the South China Sea; and the Baltic Sea, whose name is equivalent to East Sea in several European languages such as German (Ostsee), Swedish (Östersjön) and Finnish (Itämeri). East Sea is officially used as an English name for the body of water by the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Vietnam thusly uses East Sea for South China Sea in its English-language publications;{{cite web|title=VN, China pledge to solve East Sea issue|date=20 April 2011|publisher=Socialist Republic of Việt Nam|url=http://thutuong.chinhphu.vn:2012/Home/VN-China-pledge-to-solve-East-Sea-issue/20114/1040.vgp}}{{cite web|title=VN asserts sea and island sovereignty |date=2011-06-09|publisher=Socialist Republic of Việt Nam|url=http://thutuong.chinhphu.vn:2012/Home/VN-asserts-sea-and-island-sovereignty/20116/1025.vgp}}

likewise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China uses 'East Sea' for the East China Sea in its English-language publications.{{cite web|title=The Fourth Round of Consultation on East Sea between China and Japan to Be Held |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of People's Republic of China|date=2 March 2006|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt/wsrc/t238013.htm}}{{cite web|title=Chinese Premier Meets with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of People's Republic of China|date=24 October 2008|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t519594.htm}}

Even within Japan itself the term {{nihongo|East Sea|東海|Tōkai}} is already used to refer to the parts of the Pacific Ocean east of middle and upper Honshu, as can be seen in the naming of the Tōkaidō region and the Tōkai region.

The Japanese government is concerned that the name change could set a bad precedent and cause more naming disputes worldwide. The Korean side counters that all these problems are irrelevant as Korea's argument is not to replace 'Sea of Japan' with 'East Sea' but rather to use the name 'East Sea' alongside 'Sea of Japan'.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

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

{{main article|International Hydrographic Organization}}Limits of Oceans and Seas

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) coordinates with member countries over hydrographic issues. One of the organization's functions is to standardise the delineation of nautical regions. In 1929, the organization (then called the International Hydrographic Bureau) published edition 1 of "IHO Special Publication 23" (IHO SP 23), titled Limits of Oceans and Seas. This included the limits of the sea area between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, designated as "Sea of Japan"; however, at that time, Korea could not participate in the IHO because it was under Japanese rule. The name "Sea of Japan" remains in the 3rd edition of SP-23, published in 1953.{{cite web|title=IHO Special Publication 23|url=http://eastsea.nori.go.kr/eng/open_content/iho/magazine.asp|publisher=Korean Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration|year=2004|access-date=10 September 2010|archive-date=30 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230120242/http://eastsea.nori.go.kr/eng/open_content/iho/magazine.asp|url-status=dead}} South Korea officially joined the IHO in 1957.{{cite web|title=Major Historical Background Information|url=http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/nihonkai/keii_eng.htm|publisher=Japan Coast Guard|date=29 January 2009|access-date=21 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524121526/http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/nihonkai/keii_eng.htm|archive-date=24 May 2011|df=dmy-all}}

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

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 endeavour 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 and not applicable to high seas like the sea area between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. Contrary to Japan's claim, there are no high seas in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the sea area between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. {{cn span|text=Even if Japan's usage of the term "high seas" includes exclusive economic zones, there are no grounds in international law for Japan's claim that these resolutions are not applicable to the case of East Sea/Sea of Japan.|date=April 2025}} The English Channel/La Manche, which is referred to in the IHO Resolution 1/1972 as an example of concurrent usage, is composed of only the territorial seas and the exclusive economic zones of the UK and France. The East Sea/Sea of Japan is also composed of only territorial seas and exclusive economic zones of its coastal states, which is no different from the case of English Channel/La Manche. Therefore, this resolution should be applicable to the case of East Sea/Sea of Japan.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

In 2017, the IHO's 1st Session of the Assembly was held and the member states decided to discuss the future of S-23, taking into account the growing need to modernize the publication, the latest edition of which was published in 1953.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

At the 2nd Session of the Assembly in 2020, the member states decided to replace the sea area names in S-23 with unique numerical identifiers and to develop a new digital standard (S-130) that meets the requirements of contemporary geographic information systems. While developing a data-set to designate geographic sea areas by a system of unique numerical identifiers only, S-23 is kept publicly available as it is, as part of existing IHO publication, to demonstrate the evolutionary process from the analogue to the digital era. The IHO currently has a project team working to release S-130 by 2026.{{cite web|title=Second Session of the IHO Assembly (A-2)|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/About%20IHO/Assembly/Assembly2/A-2_Final_Summary_Records_EN.pdf|publisher=IHO|access-date=23 August 2024}} Japan and South Korea disagree on whether unofficial usage of the name Sea of Japan will decline following S-130's replacement of S-23.{{cite news|title=South Korea's Fight Against the 'Sea of Japan' Pays Off|first=Mitch|last=Shin|work=The Diplomat|location=Washington, D.C.|date=November 23, 2020|accessdate=February 16, 2025|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/11/south-koreas-fight-against-the-sea-of-japan-pays-off}}

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 Korea and North Korea both joined in 1991.{{cite web|title=Member States of the United Nations|url=https://www.un.org/en/members|publisher=United Nations|date=3 July 2006|access-date=10 September 2010}}

In 1977, the Third U.N. 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 East Sea/Sea of Japan.

In 1992, during the 1992 Sixth UNCSGN, the South Korean government, in their first time participating in the UNCSGN, requested that the name 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.{{citation|title=Report of the Sixth UNCSGN Conference|id=United Nations Publication E.93.I.23|pages=21–22|publisher=United Nations|year=1993}}

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, South 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.{{cite web|title=Report of the Seventh UNCSGN Conference|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/7th-uncsgn-docs/7thUNCSGN-Report_E-.pdf|page = 18|publisher=United Nations|date=13–22 January 1998|access-date=30 March 2011}}

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.{{cite web|title=Eighth UNCSGN Conference Report|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/8th-uncsgn-docs/8th_UNCSGN-E.pdf|publisher=United Nations|pages = 29–30|date=27 August – 5 September 2002|access-date=30 March 2011}} 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.{{cite web|title=Ninth UNCSGN Conference Report|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/9th-uncsgn-docs/report%20of%209th%20uncsgn%20n0750902%20en.pdf|pages = 29–30|publisher=United Nations|date=21–30 August 2007| access-date=23 September 2010}}

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.{{cite web | url = http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/un0406.html | title = The Policy of the United Nations Concerning the Naming of {{'}}Sea of Japan{{'}} | publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |date=June 2004|access-date=22 November 2010}}{{Cite web|title=UN and U.S. use "Sea of Japan"|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/na/page1we_000112.html|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|language=en}} 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 that is 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."{{cite web| url = http://www.mofat.go.kr/pdffiles/en_Eastsea_1.htm| title = The Practice of the Secretariat of the United Nations Concerning the Naming of the Sea Area between Korea and Japan, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea| access-date = 22 November 2010| publisher = South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120806062346/http://www.mofat.go.kr/pdffiles/en_Eastsea_1.htm| archive-date = 6 August 2012| df = dmy-all}}

File:28th Session of UNGEGN 3.JPG

On 6 August 2012, representatives from South Korea and North Korea addressed an assembly at the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, asking that the names "East Sea" and "Sea of Japan" be used concurrently for the sea. Ferjan Ormeling Jr., chairman of the conference, responded that the organization had no authority to decide the issue and requested that the involved countries resolve the differences over the name amongst themselves.Jiji Press, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/08/08/national/genba-stands-firm-on-senkakus/ Genba stands firm on Senkakus; Koreas in 'East Sea' push] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104222924/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/08/08/national/genba-stands-firm-on-senkakus/ |date=4 January 2016 }}", Japan Times, 8 August 2012, p. 2

Russia calls this sea "Япо́нское мо́ре" (Yapónskoye móre, Japanese Sea).{{cite web|title=ATLAS OF OCEANOGRAPHY Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan|url=http://www.pacificinfo.ru/data/cdrom/2/HTML/4_00.htm|language=ru|publisher=Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences|access-date=25 April 2011|archive-date=15 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115073938/http://www.pacificinfo.ru/data/cdrom/2/HTML/4_00.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Seas of the USSR|url=http://tapemark.narod.ru/more/20.html |language=ru |publisher=A. D. Dobrovolsky, BS Zalogin. Univ. Press, 1982. |access-date=25 April 2011}} Japan believes that Russia played a major role in establishing this name internationally, as mentioned above. Chinese government websites exclusively use the name 日本海 (rìběnhǎi, 'Japan Sea').{{cite web |url =http://japanese.china.org.cn/politics/txt/2011-04/20/content_22403715.htm |script-title=ja:韓国国会議員、｢日本海｣呼称廃止を中国に求める |date=20 April 2011 |publisher = Japanese.China.org.cn |language = ja |trans-title=A South Korean lawmaker calls on China to abolish the name of the "Sea of Japan" |access-date=14 May 2011}}

In 2003, the French Defense Ministry issued nautical maps that included both terms Sea of Japan and East Sea.{{cite web|title=Q&A on the Issue of the Name "Sea of Japan"|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/q_a/faq14.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=22 November 2010|date=February 2003}} It reverted to Sea of Japan as a single name in the map issued in 2004.{{cite web | url =http://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/info/kouhou/h16/k20040713/0713kouhou.pdf | script-title=ja:フランス海軍海洋情報部刊行の海図目録 －「日本海」単独標記に－ | publisher = Japan Coast Guard |date=13 July 2004|access-date=22 November 2010|language = ja}} The United Kingdom and Germany officially use the Sea of Japan.

The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) continues to advocate the use of Sea of Japan without qualification in U.S. government publications. The World Factbook published by the Central Intelligence Agency follows the BGN's guidance.{{cite web|title=FAQ|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/faqs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612214339/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/faqs.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 June 2007|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|year=2010|access-date=8 November 2010}} Note: expand the "Policies" tab to see details. On 8 August 2011, a spokesman for the United States Department of State stated that the United States Board on Geographic Names considered the official name of the sea to be "Sea of Japan".{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

Despite the U.S. government's position for the single use of Sea of Japan, in 2011, Virginia state lawmaker David W. Marsden, acting on behalf of Korean-American voters, introduced a bill to the education panel of the Senate of Virginia that would have required public school textbooks to include both "Sea of Japan" and "East Sea" as names. The panel rejected the bill by an 8–7 vote on 26 January 2012.Jiji Press, "Virginia sinks sea-renaming plan", Japan Times, 31 January 2012, p. 2.{{cite news | title='East Sea' textbook directive fails Senate panel | url=http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2722782&nid=120 | agency=Associated Press | access-date=28 April 2012}} The issue was revisited two years later on 3 February 2014, with the Education Committee of the Virginia House of Delegates passing legislation to use both "Sea of Japan" and "East Sea" in school textbooks.{{cite web |url=http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001001763 |title=Virginia nears law on Sea of Japan |publisher=The Japan News |access-date=24 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307113844/http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001001763 |archive-date=7 March 2014 |df=dmy-all }} This bill, House Bill (HB) No. 11, was finally passed by the Virginia House of Delegates on 6 February 2014, signed by the Governor on 28 March and became effective on 1 July. The bill states that "all textbooks approved by the Board of Education pursuant to §22.1-238 of the Code of Virginia, when referring to the Sea of Japan, shall note that it is also referred to as the East Sea."{{cite news|title=McAuliffe signs East Sea bill that pitted Korean Americans against Japan|first=Laura|last=Vozzella|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|date=2 April 2014|accessdate=15 February 2025|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcauliffe-signs-east-sea-bill-that-pitted-korean-americans-against-japan/2014/04/02/891af00c-bab0-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html}}

On 29 June 2012, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell affirmed the BGN's position in his response, published on the White House website, to the We the People petition concerning the usage of "Sea of Japan", in which he stated, "It is longstanding United States policy to refer to each sea or ocean by a single name. This policy applies to all seas, including those bordered by multiple countries that may each have their own names for such bodies of water. Concerning the body of water between the Japanese archipelago and the Korean Peninsula, longstanding U.S. policy is to refer to it as the "Sea of Japan".{{cite web | title=Response to We the People Petition on the Sea of Japan Naming Issue | url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/06/29/response-we-people-petition-sea-japan-naming-issue | via=National Archives | work=whitehouse.gov | date=29 June 2012 | access-date=3 July 2012}} He also stated, "We are aware the Republic of Korea refers to the body of water as the 'East Sea,' and the United States is not asking the Republic of Korea to change its nomenclature. U.S. usage of the 'Sea of Japan' in no way implies an opinion regarding any issue related to sovereignty."Kyodo News, "[http://info.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120704b3.html U.S. to keep Sea of Japan on books] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222140447/http://info.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120704b3.html |date=22 February 2014 }}", Japan Times, 4 July 2012, p. 2{{Cite web|date=2012-06-29|title=Response to We the People Petition on the Sea of Japan Naming Issue|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/06/29/response-we-people-petition-sea-japan-naming-issue|access-date=2021-03-29|website=whitehouse.gov|language=en}}

For example, the Manual of Style of the National Geographic Society 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.{{cite web|title=National Geographic Map Policy|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/national-geographic-map-policy/|publisher=National Geographic Society|access-date=23 August 2024}}

In 2006, Google put both names on Google Earth, using East Sea near the Korean coast and Sea of Japan near the Japanese coast.{{cite news|last=Cho|first=Jin-Seo|title=Google asked to identify Korea correctly|url=http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=50214|access-date=21 September 2010|newspaper=The Korea Times|date=2 August 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520090640/http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=50214|archive-date=20 May 2011|df=dmy-all}} Encyclopædia Britannica states that Sea of Japan is also known as and called by East Sea. On the encyclopedia's map, Sea of Japan and East Sea are used concurrently.{{cite web|title=Britannica-Sea of Japan/East Sea|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sea-of-Japan|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=23 August 2024}}

• Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea
• Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan
• Japanese-Korean disputes
• Geographical renaming
• Persian Gulf naming dispute

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{{Commons category|Sea of Japan naming dispute}}

Japan

• {{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/index.html |title=The Issue of Name "Sea of Japan" |language=en |website=MOFA, Japan }}
• {{cite web|author=MOFA, Japan |author-link=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan) |title="Sea of Japan" - A globally established name |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac58ARaacAM&t=24s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211116/ac58ARaacAM| archive-date=2021-11-16 | url-status=live|date=4 April 2014 |language=en |via=YouTube }}{{cbignore}}

South Korea

• {{cite web|author=대한민국외교부|author-link=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (South Korea)|title=East Sea, The Name from the Past, of the Present, and for the Future|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmF2o3NEUd4| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211116/zmF2o3NEUd4| archive-date=2021-11-16 | url-status=live|date=2017-02-20|language=en|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sea of Japan Naming Dispute}}

Naming dispute

Category:Japan–Korea relations

Category:Japan–South Korea border

Category:Geography of Japan

Category:Geography of North Korea

Category:Geography of South Korea

Category:Geographical naming disputes

Category:Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea

Category:Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan

fr:Mer du Japon#Appellation