Sea of Japan
Naming dispute

The use of the term "Sea of Japan" as the dominant name is a point of contention. South Korea wants the name "East Sea" to be used, either instead of or in addition to "Sea of Japan;" while North Korea prefers the name "East Sea of Korea".

The primary issue in the dispute revolves around a disagreement about when the name "Sea of Japan" became the international standard. Japan claims the term has been the international standard since at least the early 19th century, while the Koreas claim that the term "Sea of Japan" arose later while Korea was under Japanese rule, and before that occupation, other names such as "Sea of Korea" or "East Sea" were used in English. In 2012, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the intergovernmental organization that maintains a publication listing the limits of ocean and sea areas around the world, abandoned its most recent of several attempts in the last 25 years to revise its publication of the sea's name. This was primarily because of the lack of agreement between the Koreas and Japan over the naming issue. In September 2020, the IHO announced that it would adopt a new numerical system, also known as "S-130". In November 2020, S-23, the previous version of the nautical chart made in 1953 will be made public as an IHO publication to demonstrate the evolutionary process from the analogue to the digital era. The IHO approved the proposal of the new official nautical chart. The new chart will be marked with a numerical identifier without a name.
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