Editing Sea of Japan naming dispute (section)

===Arguments based on historical maps===

====Arguments from South Korea====
According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the name East Sea (Donghae(동해)) can be found in various historical records produced in the span of over 2,000 years, including the ''[[Samguk Sagi|History of the Three Kingdoms]]'' (1145),<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.koreaworldtimes.com/topics/news/8195/|script-title=ja:トンヘ（東海）の呼称歴史は2000年？ 2千年前発祥説が多い韓国|newspaper=KoreaWorldTimes |date=2020-11-23|language=ja|access-date=2021-09-27}}</ref> the monument of [[King Gwanggaeto]] (414), and "Map of Eight Provinces of Korea" ({{Langx|ko|八道總圖|label=none}}, 1530).<ref name="km1">{{cite web|title=East Sea|url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/political/hotissues/eastsea/index.jsp
|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)|South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]]|year=2010 |access-date=21 November 2010}}</ref> According to such records, the name East Sea is almost 1,700 years older than the first documented world map to name the area the Sea of Japan, the ''[[Kunyu Wanguo Quantu]]'' (坤輿萬國全圖), which was drawn by the Italian missionary [[Matteo Ricci]] in China (1602). No Japanese record published up to the late-18th century indicated any name for the body of water.<ref name="NEHF">{{cite web|title=Naming of the East Sea|url=http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|publisher=Northeast Asian History Foundation|year=2007|access-date=22 November 2010|archive-date=15 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815174553/http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|url-status=dead}}</ref> Furthermore, South Korea has pointed out that Japan itself recognized the sea as Sea of Joseon (Korea) not Sea of Japan since some 18th and 19th-century Japanese maps referred to the sea as Chōsenkai (朝鮮海, literally Sea of Joseon), including the {{Nihongo|Simplified Map of Japan's Periphery|日本邊界略圖|4=1809}}, Map of Asia (亞細亞全圖, 1794) which was drawn by Katsuragawa Hoshu (桂川甫周) and the {{Nihongo|New World Map|新製輿地全圖|4=1844}}.<ref name = km1/>  Additionally, it specifically states that the name Sea of Japan was not widely used, even in Japan, as late as the mid 19th century.<ref name="legitimacy">{{cite web|title=Legitimacy for Restoring the Name East Sea|url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/political/images/res/east_sea.pdf|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)|South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]]|date=May 2009 |access-date=28 September 2010}}</ref> Moreover, South Korea argues that it was unable to present its case for the name 'East Sea' internationally because it was under Japan's colonial rule and in the midst of the Korean War.<ref name="WorkingPaper48">{{cite web|title=Recent Changes in Geographical Names of Korean Cities and other Developments|url=https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/ungegn/session-20/working-papers/working-paper-48.pdf|work=Working Paper 48 of the UNGEGN Twentieth Session|publisher=[[United Nations]]|date=17–28 January 2000|access-date=22 November 2010}}</ref> In 1992, the name "East Sea" was agreed upon as English name for the sea in South Korea and claimed by the country for the sea during its participation in the U.N. Conference on Standardization of Geographical Names.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-05-23|title=[East Sea (1)] East Sea/Sea of Japan, what is the problem?|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100520000904|access-date=2021-03-29|website=[[The Korea Herald]]|language=en}}</ref>

====Arguments from Japan====
The Japanese government claims that the name Sea of Japan had been internationally used since the 17th century and established by the early 19th century, during which Japan was under an isolationist policy ([[Sakoku]]) of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] that restricted cultural exchange and commerce with foreign countries except China and the Netherlands until 1854.<ref name="MOFARussianFederationstudy">{{cite web|title=Issue of naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in the Russian Federation) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/study-6.html|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]]|year=2010 |access-date=22 November 2010}}</ref><ref name="Basic Position">{{cite web | url = http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/nihonkai/position_eng.htm | title = Japanese Basic Position on the Naming of the "Japan Sea" | publisher = [[Japan Coast Guard]] | date = 1 March 2005 | access-date = 22 November 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110524092704/http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/GIJUTSUKOKUSAI/nihonkai/position_eng.htm | archive-date = 24 May 2011 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Accordingly, they state, Japan could not have, at that time, had an influence on the international community regarding the naming of the sea.<ref name="Basic Position"/>

The invention of the [[marine chronometer]] in the late 18th century enabled Western explorers, such as [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse|Jean-François de Galaup]] from France, [[William Robert Broughton]] from Britain, and [[Adam Johann von Krusenstern]] (Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern) from Russia, to measure time and longitudes on the sea precisely and map the detailed shape of the Sea of Japan.<ref name="Basic Position"/> Krusenstern was an [[Russian Admiral|admiral]] and [[List of Russian explorers|explorer]], who led the [[first Russian circumnavigation]] of the [[Earth|globe]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Adam Johann von Krusenstern |title=Voyage Round the World |year=1813 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SgXVHAAACAAJ }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> According to Japanese records, it was Krusenstern who popularized the name "Mer du Japon" (Sea of Japan) in the West. In his work "Reise um die Welt in den Jahren" (1812), he wrote, "People also call this sea area the Sea of Korea, but because only a small part of this sea touches the Korean coast, it is better to name it the Sea of Japan."<ref name="Basic Position"/> The original book was published in [[St. Petersburg]] in German and Russian, translated into Dutch, French, Swedish, Italian, and English, and distributed widely among Europe.<ref name="Basic Position"/> As a result, the international name of the sea changed from no name to the Sea of Japan, on the maps drawn by countries other than Japan or Korea during the 17th to 20th centuries.<ref name="Basic Position"/> Thus, the Japanese side argues that the South Koreans misunderstand the history of the name.

====Surveys of antiquarian maps====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
|+ <big>The comparison of surveys of antiquarian maps by the government of Japan and South Korea</big><ref>{{cite web|title=A survey of historical maps from around the world |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/#5}}</ref>
!Century ||colspan=5| 16th century ||colspan=5| 17th century ||colspan=6| 18th century ||colspan=7| 19th century || nowrap| Unknown ||colspan=7| Total
|-
! nowrap |Surveyed by
!colspan=4 style="background:#A8D3FF"| Japan
!  style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ffb6b6;"| Korea
!colspan=4 style="background:#A8D3FF"| Japan
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Korea
!colspan=5 style="background:#A8D3FF"| Japan
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Korea
!colspan=6 style="background:#A8D3FF"| Japan
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Korea
! style="background:#A8D3FF"| Japan
!colspan=6 style="background:#A8D3FF"| Japan
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Korea
|- style="background:#A8D3FF"
! Surveyed in
| '''[[United States|US]]''' || '''[[France|FR]]''' || '''[[Germany|DE]]''' || '''Total'''
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Total
| '''[[United States|US]]''' || '''[[France|FR]]''' || '''[[Germany|DE]]''' || '''Total'''
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Total
| '''[[United States|US]]''' || '''[[France|FR]]''' || '''[[Germany|DE]]''' || '''[[Russia|RU]]''' || '''Total'''
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Total
| '''[[United States|US]]''' || '''[[France|FR]]''' || '''[[Germany|DE]]''' || '''[[Russia|RU]]''' || '''[[United Kingdom|UK]]''' || '''Total'''
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Total
| '''[[France|FR]]''' || '''[[United States|US]]''' || '''[[France|FR]]''' || '''[[Germany|DE]]''' || '''[[Russia|RU]]''' || '''[[United Kingdom|UK]]''' || '''Total'''
! style="background:#FFB6B6"| Total
|- style="background:#def;"
!   style="white-space:nowrap; color:red;"|Sea of Japan
| 1 || 0 || 1 || '''2'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''-'''
| 3 || 14 || 5 || '''22'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''17'''
| 47 || 24 || 23 || 2 || '''96'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''36'''
| 1059 || 206 || 487 || 27 || 50 || '''1829'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''69'''
| 10 || 1110 || 254 || 516 || 29 || 50 || '''1959'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''122'''
|- style="background:#def;"
! style="color:red;"|East Sea
| 0 || 0 || 3 || '''3'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=3| '''-'''
| 0 || 0 || 0 || '''0'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=3| '''39'''
| 5 || 0 || 7 || 1 || '''13'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=3| '''341'''
| 1 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || '''4'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=3| '''60'''
| 0  || 6 || 0 || 13 || 1 || 0 || '''20'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=3| '''440'''
|- style="background:#def;"
!Sea of Korea
| 0 || 2 || 0 || '''2'''
| 2 || 4 || 2 || '''8'''
| 94 || 49 || 159 || 5 || '''307'''
| 92 || 6 || 37 || 4 || 8 || '''147'''
| 7 || 188 || 68 || 198 || 9 || 8 || '''471'''
|- style="background:#def;"
! Oriental Sea
| 0 || 0 || 3 || '''3''' || 4 || 20 || 14 || '''38''' || 14 || 4 || 57 || – || '''75''' || 2 || 0 || 3 || – || – || '''5''' || 8 || 20 || 32 || 77 || – || – || '''129'''
|- style="background:#def;"
! nowrap |Sea of China
| 3 ||rowspan=2| 5 || 12 ||rowspan=2| '''25'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''16'''
| 11 ||rowspan=2| 36 || 18 ||rowspan=2| '''86'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''28'''
| 8 ||rowspan=2| 6 || 8 || 1 ||rowspan=2| '''56'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''10'''
| 0 ||rowspan=2| 5 || 1 || 0 || – ||rowspan=2| '''32'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''-'''
|rowspan=2| 4 || 22 ||rowspan=2| 56 || 39 || 1 || – ||rowspan=2| '''203'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''54'''
|- style="background:#def;"
! Others
| 0 || 5
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=2 | '''13'''
| 3 || 18
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=2 | '''41'''
| 17 || 16 || –
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=2 | '''80'''
| 22 || 4 || – || –
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=2 | '''12'''
| 42 || 43 || – || –
| style="background:#ffe1e1" rowspan=2 | '''146'''
|- style="background:#def;"
! No entry<br />and not<br />determined
| 32 || – || 44 || '''76''' || 83 || – || 83 || '''166''' || 116 || – || 152 || 4 || '''272''' || 109 || – || 120 || 5 || – || '''234''' || – || 340 || – || 399 || 9 || – || '''748'''
|- style="background:#def;"
! Total
| 36 || 7 || 68 || '''111'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''29'''
| 106 || 74 || 140 || '''320'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''125'''
| 301 || 83 || 422 || 13 || '''819'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''467'''
| 1285 || 217 || 655 || 36 || 58 || '''2251'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''141'''
| 29 || 1728 || 410 || 1285 || 49 || 58 || '''3530'''
| style="background:#ffe1e1" | '''762'''
|}

[[File:Delisle - Carte d'Asie (Compagnieland).jpg|thumb|A 1723 French map describing the sea as ''Mer de Corée'' (Sea of Korea)]]
[[File:Mer Orientale 1700.jpg|thumb|A 1700 French map describing the sea as ''Mer Orientale'' (Eastern Sea or Oriental Sea)]]

To provide evidence for the date when Sea of Japan came to be used internationally, both South Korea and Japan have undertaken surveys of various historical maps.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 2004, South Korea surveyed ancient maps archived in the British Library, the Cambridge University Library, the University of Southern California (USC) East Asian Map Collection, the U.S. Library of Congress, the National Library of Russia, and the French National Library. South Korean researchers examined 762 maps. They found that 440 maps had used Sea of Korea (Corea), Oriental Sea/East Sea, 122 had used Sea of Japan, and 200 had used other terms.<ref name="NAHF">{{cite web|title=Naming of the East Sea|url=http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|publisher=Northeast Asian History Foundation|year=2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815174553/http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160|archive-date=15 August 2011|access-date=2 September 2013}}</ref> In the [[French language]], the word ''orientale'' includes both the meaning of "eastern" related to compass direction and the meaning of "oriental", the Asiatic region. The same ambiguity is present in the [[Russian language]], with both "eastern" and "oriental" indicated by one word.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

[[File:Chikyu zenzu.JPG|thumb|A 1792 Japanese map "''Chikyu Zenzu''" drawn by [[Shiba Kōkan]]. The sea is described as "Inland Sea of Japan" (日本内海) and the Pacific Ocean is described as "East Sea of Japan" (日本東海)]]

From 2003 to 2008, Japan conducted a number of surveys of different collections. In 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan published their conclusions; they found that among 1,332 maps from the Berlin Library, 279 used Sea of Korea, Oriental Sea, or East Sea (or some combination thereof), 579 used Sea of Japan exclusively, 47 used China Sea (with or without other names), 33 used other term, and 384 used no term.<ref name="MOFAstudy7f">{{cite web|title=The Issue of the Naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in Germany)|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/study-7f.html|work=SEA OF JAPAN|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]]|year=2010|access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> The ministry said the Struck collection (a collection of antiquarian maps owned by a European map collector) showed that out of 79 maps, 35 used Sea of Japan, 9 used the Sea of Korea, 2 used Oriental Sea, and 33 were unmarked.<ref name= MOFAstudy7f/> It also reported that among four Russian libraries and document archives holding 51 maps, 29 used Sea of Japan, 8 used Sea of Korea, 1 used Korea Strait, 1 used East Sea, 1 used Sea of China, and 11 used no name.<ref name="MOFAstudy6">{{cite web|title=Issue of naming of the Sea of Japan (Study in the Russian Federation)|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/study-6.html|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]]|year=2010|access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> Among 1,213 maps from the U.S. Library of Congress, the ministry said, ones that gave a name for this body of water showed that 87 percent used Sea of Japan, 8 percent used Sea of Korea, 5 percent used other terms, and none used Oriental Sea or East Sea.<ref name="MOFApamphlet2003">{{cite web|title=Sea of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/pamph0903.pdf|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]]|date=February 2009|access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref> Similarly, the ministry said that 58 maps from the British Library and the University of Cambridge showed 86 percent used Sea of Japan, 14 percent used Sea of Korea, and none used Oriental Sea, East Sea, or other terms.<ref name=MOFApamphlet2003/> The ministry said that they looked at 1,485 maps in the French National Library. They reported that 95 percent of 215 French maps used Sea of Japan.<ref name=MOFApamphlet2003/>