Asserting Sovereignty in Takeshima

A jewel of the Sea of Japan, Takeshima has a long history asintegral Japanese territory and has been held continuously and lawfully by Japan since the end of the Second World War. The Japanese people are unanimous in recognizing the nation's sovereignty and urgently demand a national movement to affirm Japanese sovereignty over Takeshima.

Takeshima Island belongs to Japan

The Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan are located about 45 to 80 kilometers away from the mainland proper, and they consist of four inhabited islands and more than 180 smaller islands. Takeshima Island is located further away from these islands.
Takeshima Island belongs to Goka Village in Togo Island, the biggest island of the Oki Islands. Located 157 kilometers to the northwest of the village (Lat. 37o 9' N., Long. 131o 55' E.), Takeshima Island consists of two small islands and dozens of rocks. The island has a total area of 0.23 square kilometers and is uninhabited.
Though the very Island of Takeshima belongs to Japan like the four northern islands, Japan has not been able to exercise its sovereignty over the island which is situated at the border. As of 2003, a dispute over the sovereignty has not been resolved with South Korea.

Why did we get into this situation?

As mentioned previously, Takeshima Island belongs to Goka Village, Oki County, Shimane Prefecture. According to the Goka Village Magazine published by the village, Takeshima Island has long been closely related to people in Shimane and Tottori Prefectures, and it is recorded that people in Shimane and Tottori Prefectures had already visited Takeshima Island and Dagelet Island in the Muromachi and Edo periods.
In 1618, the Otanis and the Murakamis living in Yonago who received approval from the government of Edo gathered abalone, captured sea lions and the like, and cut down trees on Dagelet Island. They stopped at Takeshima Island and used the island as a port of call on the way to Dagelet Island via Oki Island. They also gathered abalone, captured sea lions and the like on the island.
From the late 1890s, islanders on Oki Island started engaging in fishing on Takeshima Island. In 1904, Yosaburo Nakai of Saigo Town who was capturing sea lions on Takeshima Island requested the government of Meiji to incorporate Takeshima Island as a territory, and to grant use of the island. Then on January 28, 1905, the Cabinet officially named the island "Takeshima Island" and decided to place the island under the jurisdiction of the administrator of Oki, Shimane Prefecture, and incorporated the island into Shimane Prefecture. The government acquired the island by occupancy in the absence of a landowner (the government incorporated the island without a landowner as its territory) according to modern international law, and its territorial right was therein established.
In 1939, the council of Goka Village decided to incorporate Takeshima Island into its area. However, after World War II, Japan was under occupation, and Japan's administrative authority was limited to the mainland proper. Because the Peace Treaty with Japan did not enact any provisions concerning its territory, South Korea declared that Takeshima was included within the Lee Seung-man Line, and belonged to South Korea, and they unilaterally occupied the island. The Japanese government also claimed its sovereignty over the island and proposed that South Korea submit the issue to the International Court of Justice, to which the South Korean side refused. Even after the Japan-South Korea Basic Treaty was signed in 1965, Takeshima Island has been occupied by South Korea until the present day. This is what was described about the background of the Takeshima issue in the Goka Village Magazine published by Goka Village, Oki County, to which Takeshima Island belongs.
In addition, in 1978, South Korea implemented a 12- mile territorial water zone and banned Japanese fishing boats from entering. Japanese fishing boats still cannot operate in the zone and because of that, Japan's fisheries have been greatly affected.
In the hope of establishing the territorial right over Takeshima Island, those concerned with the fishing industry in both Shimane and Tottori Prefectures including Goka Village, Oki County, have been continuously submitting petitions to the government. However, it seems that there is a big difference in the government's response and in the national interest levels between the issue of the return of the four northern islands and the issue of Takeshima. Why so? Because Japan is an island nation surrounded by seas, people living in Japan are not really aware of borders between countries. In actual fact, therefore, there is no sense of tension. Countries like Japan that are close to the ocean and isolated from other countries are rather exceptional, while many other nations adjoin neighboring countries at the edge of their territories along border lines and some even have borders with several countries. It is well known that there are still numerous disputes between nations that adjoin each other. In those places, borders raise an issue of critical importance.

Toward a nationwide movement for the establishment of territoriality

In 1983, Japan ratified the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and claimed 12-mile Territorial Waters and a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. In the near future, the country is preparing to embark on a new era of self-management of a 350-mile continental shelf.
Because of this coming new era, surely it is necessary to review what borders mean to Japanese. Isolated islands stand at the forefront. The isolated islands around Japan define its borders. It is no exaggeration to say that Japan is protected by the isolated islands.
Though Takeshima is a small island 157 kilometers to the northwest of Oki, its impact is immeasurable for the securement of Japan's national defense, fisheries, economic zones, and marine resources, so the establishment of territoriality over Takeshima means a lot indeed.
Like the territorial dispute over the four northern islands, I hope that a movement to establish the territoriality of Takeshima, which is another territorial dispute, will be further developed as the earnest wish of residents of Shimane Prefecture and the whole nation alike.