Q&A on the Issue of the Name "Sea of Japan"

February 2003

Q: Recently it was reported that the New York Times in the United States have stopped using the term "Sea of Japan" Is this true? And what response is the Japanese government taking?

A: Regarding the New York Times, since, in its article on the North Korea problem, it referred just to "the body of water between Japan and Korea" and carried a map that did not state the name of the sea, South Korean newspapers and others reported that it no longer uses the term "Sea of Japan." Regarding this matter, the Japanese Consulate General of Japan in New York sent a letter to the New York Times explaining the legitimacy of the term "Sea of Japan" and inquiring about the facts. The New York Times replied that it does use the term "Sea of Japan."

Q: I have heard that the French Defense Ministry has included both terms "Sea of Japan" and "East Sea" in nautical maps. Is this true? And what response is the Japanese government taking?

A: When the Embassy of Japan in France asked for confirmation from the Ocean Information Division of the French Navy on February 4, it received the reply that the French government recognizes the legitimacy of the term "Sea of Japan" (Mer du Japon) and that all French nautical maps carry only the term "Mer du Japon." In the 2003 edition of the Nautical Map Catalog, however, the term "East Sea" is also included in several places, such as maps introducing individual sea areas. When Japan lodged a protest about this fact, we received the reply that the French government has not changed its policy of using the term "Sea of Japan" and would investigate why both terms were used in the catalog.

Q: I have heard that both terms "Sea of Japan" and "East Sea" are used in documents of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Is this true? And what response is the Japanese government taking?

A: It is NOT true that UNESCO officially used the term "East Sea" together with "Sea of Japan." In the middle of January, we discovered that a map of Japan in the Web Site of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), for which UNESCO plays the role of secretariat, had both terms "Sea of Japan" and "East Sea." We immediately requested the WWAP secretariat to make a correction. In reply, the WWAP side admitted its error and deleted the term "East Sea."