The
Sea of Japan is a
marginal sea of the western
Pacific Ocean, bordered by
Japan,
South Korea,
North Korea and
Russia. It is
referred to in
North Korea as the
Korea East Sea and in
South Korea as the
East Sea. Like the
Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no
tides due to its nearly complete enclosure.
There is currently a
dispute at the
United Nations over its official name.
Physical characteristics
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is bound by the Russian mainland and
Sakhalin island to the north, the
Korean Peninsula to the west, and the
Japanese islands of
Hokkaidō,
Honshū, and
Kyūshū to the east.
It is connected to other seas by five shallow
straits: the
Strait of Tartary between the
Asian mainland and Sakhalin;
La Perouse Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō; the
Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū; the
Kanmon Straits between the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū; and the
Korea Strait (genkainada) between the
Korean Peninsula and the island of Kyūshū. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the
Tsushima Strait, on either side of
Tsushima Island.
- Surface area: about 978,000 km²
The sea has three major
basins: the
Yamato Basin in the southeast; the
Japan Basin in the north; and the
Tsushima Basin (Ulleung Basin) in the southwest. The Japan Basin has the deepest areas of the
sea, while the Tsushima Basin has the shallowest.
On the eastern shores, the
continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometres wide.
The Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of
Kuroshio Current, flows northward through the Korea Strait along the Japanese shore, and the Liman Cold Current flows southward through the Strait of Tartary along the Russian shore.
The Sea of Japan was once a
landlocked sea when the
land bridge of
East Asia existed.
Economy
The areas in the north and the southeast are rich
fishing grounds. The importance of the fishery in the sea is well illustrated by the
dispute between South Korea and Japan over
Liancourt Rocks. The sea is also important for its
mineral deposits, particularly
magnetite sands. There are also believed to be
natural gas and
petroleum fields. With the growth of East Asian economies, the Sea of Japan has become an increasingly important commercial waterway.
Naming dispute
There is a dispute over using the name "Sea of Japan".
The use of the term "Sea of Japan" as the dominant appellation is a point of contention.
- the Japanese claim that it was commonly adopted during the early 19th century
- the Koreans claim that the change was imposed during the Japanese Occupation (early 20th century - with an official validation in 1929
Both South Korea and North Korea have advocated for the end of what they consider a colonial heritage:
- South Korea wants the "East Sea" name to be restored, and claims that the "Sea of Japan" appellation is not anterior to the "Sea of Korea / Korean Sea" appellation.
- North Korea wants the "East Sea of Korea" name to be restored.
[, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]
As a result of Korean objections to the name "Sea of Japan," some
English-language publications refer to it as "Sea of Japan (East Sea)," incorporating a version of the Korean name.
On August 27, 2007, both Korean states made separate proposals to the Ninth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names instituted by the
United Nations. The conference made no decision on the issue but called on all parties to find a commonly accepted solution. The chairman of the session stated that "individual countries could not impose specific names on the international community and standardization could only be promoted when a consensus existed."
See also
