Editing Sea of Japan naming dispute (section)

===United Nations===
While the United Nations has never directly addressed the issue of establishing an official, standardized name for the sea, several resolutions and statements by the UN have had relevance to the topic. Japan joined the United Nations in 1956, while South Korea and North Korea both joined in 1991.<ref name="UN members">{{cite web|title=Member States of the United Nations|url=https://www.un.org/en/members|publisher=[[United Nations]]|date=3 July 2006|access-date=10 September 2010}}</ref>

In 1977, the Third U.N. Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) adopted Resolution III/20, entitled "Names of Features beyond a Single Sovereignty". The resolution recommended that "when countries sharing a given geographical feature do not agree on a common name, it should be a general rule of cartography that the name used by each of the countries concerned will be accepted. A policy of accepting only one or some of such names while excluding the rest would be inconsistent as well as inexpedient in practice." As with IHO Technical Resolution A.4.2.6, South Korea and Japan disagree about whether or not this policy applies to the East Sea/Sea of Japan.<ref name = MOFApamphlet2003/>

In 1992, during the 1992 Sixth UNCSGN, the South Korean government, in their first time participating in the UNCSGN, requested that the name the sea be determined through consultation, which the North Korean representative concurred with. The Japanese representative stated that the name of the Sea of Japan had already been accepted worldwide and that any change would introduce confusion. The conference recommended that the parties work together on the issue outside of the conference.<ref>{{citation|title=Report of the Sixth UNCSGN Conference|id=United Nations Publication E.93.I.23|pages=21–22|publisher=[[United Nations]]|year=1993}}</ref>

In 1998, South Korea raised the issue again at the Seventh UNCSGN. Japan, however, opposed the method by which the South Korean government proposed the issue, arguing that they had not followed the proper procedure for doing so. Following some debate, South Korea withdrew the issue, and instead recommended that the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names work so that a resolution could be submitted to the Eighth UNSCGN conference. The president of the conference urged that Japan, South Korea, and North Korea work towards a mutually acceptable agreement.<ref name="UNSCGN7">{{cite web|title=Report of the Seventh UNCSGN Conference|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/7th-uncsgn-docs/7thUNCSGN-Report_E-.pdf|page = 18|publisher=[[United Nations]]|date=13–22 January 1998|access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref>

At the Eighth UNCSGN in 2002, South Korea and Japan presented a number of papers to the conference regarding their positions on the naming issue. South Korea asked for a resolution to adjudicate the name, while Japan asked that the name be decided through resolution outside of the conference. No resolution was passed, and the Committee again urged the countries to develop a mutually agreeable solution. The chairman further noted that standardization could only occur after consensus had been reached.<ref name="UNCSGN8">{{cite web|title=Eighth UNCSGN Conference Report|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/8th-uncsgn-docs/8th_UNCSGN-E.pdf|publisher=[[United Nations]]|pages = 29–30|date=27 August – 5 September 2002|access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref> The same situation occurred at the Ninth Conference in 2007. South Korea and North Korea both proposed a resolution by the UNCSGN, while Japan expressed a desire to settle the matter outside of the conference, and the Committee urged the members to seek a mutual agreement.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ninth UNCSGN Conference Report|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/9th-uncsgn-docs/report%20of%209th%20uncsgn%20n0750902%20en.pdf|pages = 29–30|publisher=[[United Nations]]|date=21–30 August 2007| access-date=23 September 2010}}</ref>

On 23 April 2004, the United Nations affirmed in a written document to the Japanese government that it will continue using the name Sea of Japan in its official documents.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/un0406.html | title = The Policy of the United Nations Concerning the Naming of {{'}}Sea of Japan{{'}} | publisher = [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]] |date=June 2004|access-date=22 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=UN and U.S. use "Sea of Japan"|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/na/page1we_000112.html|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|language=en}}</ref> However, it agreed to leave the topic open for further discussion. In a letter to South Korea, it was explained that the UN was not determining the validity of either name, but wished to use the term that is most widely used until the parties resolved the disagreement. The letter further stated, "The use of an appellation by the Secretariat based on the practice is without prejudice to any negotiations or agreements between the interested parties and should not be interpreted as advocating or endorsing any party's position, and can in no way be invoked by any party in support of a particular position in the matter."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.mofat.go.kr/pdffiles/en_Eastsea_1.htm| title = The Practice of the Secretariat of the United Nations Concerning the Naming of the Sea Area between Korea and Japan, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea| access-date = 22 November 2010| publisher = [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)|South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]]| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120806062346/http://www.mofat.go.kr/pdffiles/en_Eastsea_1.htm| archive-date = 6 August 2012| df = dmy-all}}</ref>

[[File:28th Session of UNGEGN 3.JPG|thumb|upright|Ferjan Ormeling chairing 28th Session of the UNGEGN, New York 2014]]
On 6 August 2012, representatives from South Korea and North Korea addressed an assembly at the [[United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names]], asking that the names "East Sea" and "Sea of Japan" be used concurrently for the sea. [[Ferjan Ormeling Jr.]], chairman of the conference, responded that the organization had no authority to decide the issue and requested that the involved countries resolve the differences over the name amongst themselves.<ref>[[Jiji Press]], "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/08/08/national/genba-stands-firm-on-senkakus/ Genba stands firm on Senkakus; Koreas in 'East Sea' push] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104222924/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/08/08/national/genba-stands-firm-on-senkakus/ |date=4 January 2016 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 8 August 2012, p. 2</ref>