UNGEGN
23rd session
STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF JAPAN
(Under the Agenda Item 5 on 28 March 2006)
Thank you Madame Chair,
The purpose of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is to consider technical problems related to the standardization of geographical names. The delegation of Japan consequently believes as a matter of principle that it is not appropriate to discuss the issue of the naming of any particular geographical feature such as the Sea of Japan at this meeting.
After having listened carefully to the presentation on CRP.7 and the statement delivered by the representative of the Republic of Korea concerning the naming of Sea of Japan, my delegation is obliged to make brief comments to clarify the position of the Government of Japan.
As my delegation has made clear to the Group at its previous sessions, the name "Sea of Japan" is internationally and historically established and is used at present all over the world.
WIDER INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
In the international fora, the name of Sea of Japan has long been supported and employed by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and by the United Nations System. At the last session, my delegation informed the Group of the established practice of the United Nations that the name of Sea of Japan is the standard geographical term and as such is to be used in the official documents of the United Nations.
Since then, as many as 26 UN specialized agencies and other international institutions have communicated officially to my government that they uphold the same policy as the United Nations.
Japan has also succeeded in convincing some map publishers and press editors who once had offered the compromise of the simultaneous use of the two names in a single geographical feature. Almost all have accepted the Japanese position and returned to their original practice.
STRONGER HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
In order to seek stronger historical evidence to harness its position, the Government of Japan recently conducted a study on the maps possessed by the United States Library of Congress. The study was the third in the series of field surveys following those undertaken in the British Library and the University of Cambridge, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France. The results of the latest survey which were released in August 2005 again made it clear that the name of Sea of Japan became established by the Europeans and Americans between the end of the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century.
It was European explorers who came to discover the geographical contours of the sea area and chose the designation of Sea of Japan. For more details, we invite anyone interested to visit our web site. (http://www.mofa.go.jp/maritime/index.html)
I wish to point out that a dual designation in a geographical feature would harm the interests of the international community. The pressing need for a single globally standardized name is underlined, especially in the wake of rapidly evolving process of globalization in all aspects of the contemporary life.
Finally, I would like to re-affirm our willingness to continue our bilateral talks with the Government of the Republic of Korea on this issue.
Thank you.
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