The Territory Of Japan

This Open Access book carefully examines the legal and historical bases of the territory of Japan as a modern State from the Meiji period to 2002. A new preface summarizes key developments in the situation up through 2022. Japan’s current territory is stipulated by the Potsdam Declaration (1945) and the Treaty of Peace with Japan (1951); it includes the Northern Territories, the Senkaku Islands, and Takeshima. Japan has demanded the return of the Northern Territories, comprising the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai, which are occupied by Russia. China has claimed sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, which are validly controlled by Japan; Japan has claimed sovereignty over Takeshima, which is occupied by the Republic of Korea. This book analyzes the current status of these territorial topics, drawing on historical documents and international legal precedent, and it suggests peaceful methods to address them. In discussing territorial land, sea, and air space, this work touches upon postwar concepts defining modern international law and relevant rules on these subjects—exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelves, and air defense identification zones (ADIZs)—found in international treaties, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and related domestic laws.

The period following World War II has witnessed numerous international territorial disputes, particularly in Asia and Africa. Even as we enter the twenty-first century, a large number of these territorial disputes over sovereignty remain unresolved and continue to pose significant diplomatic barriers for the parties involved. Clive Schofield, the author of Global Boundaries, identified10 disputed island “hot spots” around the globe, including the Falkland Islands, Dokdo (Takeshima), Diaoyu (Senkaku), and the Kurile and Spratly Islands, among others. Turning our attention to Northeast Asia, one territorial dispute of historic significance concerns a set of small rocky islets known as Dokdo in Korean or Takeshima in Japanese. Upon closer examination, these small islets represent more than just a dispute over territorial boundaries, but a historic source of tension and sensitivity that can be traced back to the period of Japanese imperialist aggression in Korea during the first half of the twentieth century. Today, this controversial territorial dispute remains as a critical obstacle to the amicable relations between Korea and Japan. Much of the problem appears to stem from the inability of both countries to reach a consensus on two interconnected issues: historical misperceptions and divergent legal interpretations over territorial claims to sovereignty. Bearing these two issues in mind, this book seeks to offer a fresh examination of the major historical and legal arguments at both sides of the Dokdo conflict from the perspective of international law. Through this approach, it is hoped this book will not only contribute to a better understanding of the facts and truth behind the Dokdo dispute, but also generate further discussion on how Korea and Japan might advance a productive dialog to achieve a meaningful resolution to this longstanding problem.

In September 1996, members of the right-wing Japan Youth Federation repaired a lighthouse on one of the Diaoyu (J. Senkaku) Islands, a small group of uninhabited islets north of Taiwan in the Liuqiu (J. Ryukyu) chain, known today as Okinawa. For months, outraged ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong and Taiwan protested Japan’s presence in the islands, and violent confrontations between protesters and the Japanese Marine Self-Defense Force resulted. Tension over these incidents has subsided since 1996, but the sovereignty of the islands remains a concern for both China and Japan. The long and complex history of relations between the two countries has made the problem difficult to resolve. This volatile situation has been further complicated by the involvement of other countries, including the U.S. Although the Diaoyu/Senkaku matter may be characterized as a simple territorial dispute between two nations, it exposes complicated geopolitical relations among Japan, China, Taiwan, and the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region. Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations is an investigation of the highly topical issues involved in the Diaoyu/Senkaku confrontation. It begins by addressing the issue of the historical development of the dispute: To whom do the islands belong? When did China and Japan become involved? Does historical evidence prove who has sovereignty over the islands? How has irredentism (the claim to territory based on one or another historical “right”) become a major state policy in both countries? Other issues center on Chinese views of sovereignty and methods of delimiting territorial boundaries during the Ming and Qing periods, the Chinese concept of hegemony, and the history behind the deep mistrust that permeates Sino-Japanese relations. Finally, the author discloses the interwoven relationship between geography and history in East Asia. Chinese and Japanese geographers have for centuries been engaged in historical analyses of the islands. Their work, which has been used in the development of national security and diplomatic policies, is an important resource and one that this book makes available to Western scholars for the first time. In addition to his careful examination of these and other sources, Suganuma utilizes theoretical writings on geographical irredentism to expose the biases of recent work on the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute. This volume is the fullest scholarly treatment that the contested issue of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands has received to date in any language. It contains much of interest for historians of modern China and Japan as well as for political scientists looking for new insights into international relations and Sino-Japanese interactions. No one who reads it will look at sovereignty in the same way again.

An introduction to the people, history, geography, and culture of the island kingdom--Japan.