The body of water to the west of Japan is known internationally as the "Sea of Japan." The governments of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), however, have been arguing that its name should be changed to the "East Sea." They proposed this issue at the Eighth U.N. Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, which was held in Berlin from August 27 to September 5. The Japanese Government argues that altering the established name of a body of water without substantiated evidence will cause confusion in the world of geography and will create a bad precedent for future generations. The committee encouraged the three countries to contiinue their efforts to find a solution.

Claim By ROK and DPRK
The Sea of Japan is the body of water that is separated from the Northern Pacific by the Japanese archipelago. It covers an area of 1 million square kilometers. The idea of changing the name to the "East Sea" was first proposed by the governments of the ROK and DPRK at the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) in 1992. They have since continued to raise the issue at meetings of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).

The Government of the ROK contends that the name "Sea of Japan" came to be commonly used in the early part of the twentieth century as a result of Japan's expansionism and colonialism and that the name should therefore be changed to the "East Sea," as referred to in Korea, or that at least both the "East Sea" and the "Sea of Japan" should be used together.

World Maps: 97% Use "Sea of Japan"
The Government of Japan has addressed these arguments. The Government has noted that the name "Sea of Japan" was established in Europe from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, and has been used for the past 200 years. The Government also pointed out that names of seas are frequently derived from the peninsula or islands that separate them from the larger oceans. Geographically speaking, the Sea of Japan would not exist were it not for the Japanese archipelago.

Between August and October 2000 the Government undertook a survey of 392 maps from 60 countries around the world, excluding the ROK, DPRK, and Japan, to determine what this body of water is called. The results showed that 381 of the maps (97.2%) refer to the area only as the "Sea of Japan," either in English or in the local language. Eleven of the maps (2.8%) use both the name "Sea of Japan" and the name "East Sea." No map used the term "East Sea" alone.

The ROK and the DPRK call the sea the "East Sea" because it lies to the east of the Korean Peninsula. To Japan, however, it lies to the west, and some Japanese scholars have criticized the name "East Sea" as being Korea-centered and lacking in objectivity.

IHO
In 2003 the IHO plans to revise its guidebook "Names and Limits of Oceans and Seas." The latest edition (1953) refers to the body of water in question as "Japan Sea." But because of the claim by the ROK and DPRK, in preparation for releasing the revised edition, the IHO asked all member nations to present their opinions on the final draft that did not include pages for "Japan Sea" in August 2002, and indicated that it will render its decision by November.

But the IHO reversed itself in September. This is believed to be the result of strong protests by the Government of Japan and criticism from member nations on the idea of the lack of pages. As the IHO has not yet decided its position on the issue, the Japanese Government is continuing to stress that the name should not be changed.