The Issue of the Naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in Germany)

From December 2007 to March 2008 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) conducted a study on the maps published between 16th and 20th centuries which were stored in the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) at its Unter den Linden and Potsdam Platz sites, and also on maps held by a Berlin antiquarian collector and dealer. The study reaffirmed Japan's assertion that the Sea of Japan became established in Europe during the 19th century, when Japan was still under its policy of isolation, being unable to exert international influence.

On the contrast, the Republic of Korea (ROK) has asserted that "the name the Sea of Japan came into dominant as a result of Japan's imperialism and colonialism during the first half of the 20th century" and that "from the mid- to late nineteenth century terms corresponding to both "East Sea" and Sea of Japan were commonly used on maps published in various countries." ROK bases its claim on its own survey of 59 antique maps in the collections of the Berlin State Library and map collector Nikolaus Struck. Of these, 30 (50.8%) make reference to Korea, using the terms "Sea of Korea" (16); "East Sea" or "Oriental Sea" (10); or both "Sea of Korea" and "East Sea" (4). Only three maps (5.1%) refer to Japan, using names corresponding to Sea of Japan.

1. Purpose of the study

(1) Japan has consistently asserted that the name "Sea of Japan" is the only internationally established name for the relevant maritime area, and its major grounds are the following three key points.

(2) Regarding the historical perspective mentioned above in (1) (b), two researchers at the Geographical Survey Institute studied over 200 antique maps published in Europe. As a result, they discovered that until the late 18th century, various names were used to refer to this sea, such as the "Sea of China," "Oriental Sea," "Sea of Korea" and Sea of Japan. However, it has been confirmed that the name Sea of Japan came to be used with overwhelming frequency mostly in European maps since the beginning of the 19th century (Note 1). This fact was confirmed through the studies conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on maps possessed by the British Library, the University of Cambridge, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, and in the Russian Federation(Note 2). From the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century French, British, Russian and other explorers investigated the areas surrounding the Sea of Japan and discovered that topographically the Sea of Japan is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Japanese Archipelago. As a result of this discovery, it is believed that the name Sea of Japan came into regular usage in European maps.

This view is supported by many researchers. Furthermore, in order to further investigate the validity of Japan's assertion, a study was conducted on whether the naming of the Sea of Japan is established on maps published from the year 1300 through 1900. This study was conducted at the US Library of Congress which has a wealth of cartographical references. It was confirmed that among the 1,435 maps showing some type of name for the marine area of the Sea of Japan, 77.4% or 1,110 maps use the name "Sea of Japan." Thus outside of Europe as well, similar results to those mentioned above in the United Kingdom and France were confirmed in the United States (Note 3).

Note 1: Refer to "Sea of Japan" pamphlet (PDF) made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Note 2: Refer to the "Study of Maps Possessed by the British Library and the University of Cambridge," "Study of Maps Possessed by the Bibliotheque Nationale de France" (PDF) and "Study in the Russian Federation" on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Note 3: Refer to the "Study of Maps Possessed by the United States Library of Congress" on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

(3) In order to corroborate the above assertion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following the above-mentioned studies in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Russia Federation, carried out a study on maps in Germany regarding whether the name Sea of Japan was established, particularly among maps published in the 19th century.

(4) These studies were made against the background of the claim by the Republic of Korea (ROK) that the name of Sea of Japan came into dominant as a result of Japan's imperialism and colonialism by in the first half of the 20th century, and that from the mid- to late 19th century terms corresponding to both "East Sea" and "Sea of Japan" were commonly used on maps published in various countries. ROK bases its claim on its own survey of 59 antique maps in the collections of the Berlin State Library and map collector Nikolaus Struck. Of these, 30 (50.8%) make reference to Korea, using the terms "Sea of Korea" (16); "East Sea" or "Oriental Sea" (10); or both "Sea of Korea" and "East Sea" (4). Only three maps (5.1%) refer to Japan, using names corresponding to Sea of Japan.

2. Study at Berlin State Library

(1)Methodology

The survey was carried out through the Embassy of Japan in Berlin. It took place at the Berlin State Library at its Unter den Linden and Potsdamer platz sites.

(2) Results

(a) Of 1,332 maps, 384 had no name indicated for the area.

(b) Of 948 maps on which the area had a name indicated, 579(61%) used solely Sea of Japan.

(c) Of 499 maps produced in the 19th century and which indicated a name for the area in question, 454 (91%) showed the name Sea of Japan.

(d) Only 5 maps showed names corresponding to "East Sea" with 75 maps showing names corresponding to "Oriental Sea."

3. Survey of maps in the collection of antiquarian map dealer Nikolaus Struck

(1) Methodology

Staff from the Embassy of Japan in Berlin carried out a visual inspection of 79 maps in the Struck collection showing the area in question.

(2) Results

(a) Of the 79 maps inspected, 33 had no name indicated for the area.

(b) Of the 46 maps that had a name indicated for the area, 35 maps (76%) called it solely Sea of Japan.

(c) Of the 36 maps produced in the 19th century and which indicated a name for the area, 33 (92%) showed the name Sea of Japan.

(d) There were NO maps showing a name corresponding to "East Sea." Only two of the maps used terms corresponding to "Oriental Sea."

4. Conclusion

Based on this study, it is clear that the name Sea of Japan came to be used overwhelmingly more than other names from the beginning of the 19th century, and in accordance with the previous studies, the study of ancient maps in Germany confirms that the name Sea of Japan had been established since the beginning of the 19th century, when Japan, under its isolation policy, was not able to exert international influence.

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