- 14 Mar 2002
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Reported by BBC, August 16, 2002:
Koreas unite against Japan
"Academics from North and South Korea have accused Japan of distorting historical facts, as tensions resurface over a series of long-standing territorial disputes."
More about that "territorial" conflict by The Star, August 15, 2002
Koreans, Japan fight over sea's name
Sea of Japan causes waves with neighbouring countries
Tokyo pledged today to fight an international proposal that would cross out the name "Sea of Japan" from the world's sea charts, as a lingering map spat deepened between Japan and its neighbours. Under the new plan, floated by the Monaco-based International Hydrographic Bureau, the body of water separating Japan and the Korean peninsula would simply have no officially recognized international name. The move is meant as a compromise with South Korea, which uses the name "East Sea" and protests the more recognized moniker "Sea of Japan" as a vestige of Tokyo's 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. North Korea uses the "Korean East Sea."
"This situation is like if Madagascar got into a fight with India and said that `Indian Ocean' is an outrageous name and started using, `Madagascar Ocean,' " said Yo Iwabuchi, deputy chief of international affairs at Japan's Maritime Safety Agency.
The 70 member countries of the International Hydrographic Bureau, including Japan and South Korea, will vote on dropping the "Sea of Japan" at the end of November. Iwabuchi said Japan will lobby against the switch. South Korea has been campaigning for a name change of the sea at least since 1992, when the United Nations held a meeting on standardizing the world's geographic names. Since then, its government officials and scholars have appealed to the United States and used magazine articles and seminars to drum up support.
"The Korean government deems it inappropriate to name that sea after a single country because it is historically unjustified and causes unnecessary discord among neighbouring countries," said Kim Myong-sik, assistant minister of South Korea's Information Service in Seoul.
Kim said at different points in history, the sea has been called the "East Sea," the "Sea of Korea," and the "Oriental Sea." Japan argues that "Sea of Japan" has historical roots in European maps from the 19th century when Japan was a closed country with almost no diplomatic ties with others.
"We did not name it. It was named when Japan had not even ventured into the outside world," Iwabuchi said. Iwabuchi said that even if Japan lost November's vote, it sees no need to drop the name "Sea of Japan" from the country's own maps.
Copyright © The Star
Koreas unite against Japan
"Academics from North and South Korea have accused Japan of distorting historical facts, as tensions resurface over a series of long-standing territorial disputes."
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Koreas unite against Japan
news.bbc.co.uk
More about that "territorial" conflict by The Star, August 15, 2002
Koreans, Japan fight over sea's name
Sea of Japan causes waves with neighbouring countries
Tokyo pledged today to fight an international proposal that would cross out the name "Sea of Japan" from the world's sea charts, as a lingering map spat deepened between Japan and its neighbours. Under the new plan, floated by the Monaco-based International Hydrographic Bureau, the body of water separating Japan and the Korean peninsula would simply have no officially recognized international name. The move is meant as a compromise with South Korea, which uses the name "East Sea" and protests the more recognized moniker "Sea of Japan" as a vestige of Tokyo's 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. North Korea uses the "Korean East Sea."
"This situation is like if Madagascar got into a fight with India and said that `Indian Ocean' is an outrageous name and started using, `Madagascar Ocean,' " said Yo Iwabuchi, deputy chief of international affairs at Japan's Maritime Safety Agency.
The 70 member countries of the International Hydrographic Bureau, including Japan and South Korea, will vote on dropping the "Sea of Japan" at the end of November. Iwabuchi said Japan will lobby against the switch. South Korea has been campaigning for a name change of the sea at least since 1992, when the United Nations held a meeting on standardizing the world's geographic names. Since then, its government officials and scholars have appealed to the United States and used magazine articles and seminars to drum up support.
"The Korean government deems it inappropriate to name that sea after a single country because it is historically unjustified and causes unnecessary discord among neighbouring countries," said Kim Myong-sik, assistant minister of South Korea's Information Service in Seoul.
Kim said at different points in history, the sea has been called the "East Sea," the "Sea of Korea," and the "Oriental Sea." Japan argues that "Sea of Japan" has historical roots in European maps from the 19th century when Japan was a closed country with almost no diplomatic ties with others.
"We did not name it. It was named when Japan had not even ventured into the outside world," Iwabuchi said. Iwabuchi said that even if Japan lost November's vote, it sees no need to drop the name "Sea of Japan" from the country's own maps.
Copyright © The Star
