On November 2, 1893, Okinawa Governor Narahara Shigeru made the third petition to the Japanese government concerning the construction of markers on the Senkaku Islands to show that they were part of Okinawa Prefecture. He wrote to Home Minister Inoue Kaoru and Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, giving regulation of fishing activities as the reason for taking action. (Ref. 1)

On April 14, 1894, Director Egi Kazuyuki of the Prefectural Bureau responded on behalf of the Home Ministry, inquiring about prospects for establishing harbors and developing the land and products on the islands. He also asked whether there was any evidence in written or oral history of the islands having been part of Japan through a relationship with the Miyakojima Island or Yaeyama islands. (Ref. 2)

On May 12, 1894, Narahara replied to this inquiry by writing that he could not give a precise report, as there had been no surveys since the 1885 survey by the Izumo Maru, and resending documents from 1885. He noted in a postscript that there were no records stating that the islands were Japanese and only that fishermen from the Yaeyama Islands sometimes went there to fish. (Ref. 3)

Ref.1　："Kubashima Uotsurishima e honken shokatsu hyoko kensetsu no gi ni tsuki joshin" (Petition Regarding Construction of Markers on Kuba Island and Uotsuri Island to Indicate They Are Part of Okinawa Prefecture), Ko 111, in Teikoku hanto kankei zakken (Matters Related to Imperial Territory) 1-4-1-7, from the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Ref.2　：Ko 69, Home Ministry Hibetsu (Secret Document Annex) 34, in Teikoku hanto kankei zakken (Matters Related to Imperial Territory) 1-4-1-7, from the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Ref.3　：Hi (Secret Document) 12, Fuku (Reproduction) 153, in Teikoku hanto kankei zakken (Matters Related to Imperial Territory) 1-4-1-7, from the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Reference Materials
"Senkaku Retto dai 2 shu" (The Senkaku Islands Second Feature), in Kikan Okinawa (Okinawa Quarterly) 63 (December 31, 1972), pp. 120-124. Kikan Okinawa is the journal of Nanpo Doho Engokai (Assistance Association for Okinawa and Ogasawara Islands).

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