The 'Sea of Japan' is a
marginal sea of the western
Pacific Ocean, bordered by
Japan,
Korea and
Russia. Like the
Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no
tides due to its nearly complete enclosure.
[1]
Physical characteristics
The Sea of Japan is bound by the Russian mainland and
Sakhalin island to the north,
North Korea and
South Korea to the west, and the
Japanese islands of
HokkaidÅ,
Honshū, and
Kyūshū to the east.
It is connected to other seas by five shallow
straits: the
Strait of Tartary between the
Asian mainland and Sakhalin;
La Perouse Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and HokkaidÅ; the
Tsugaru Strait between the islands of HokkaidŠand Honshū; the
Kanmon Straits between the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū; and the
Korea Strait (genkainada) between the
Korean Peninsula and the island of Kyūshū. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the
Tsushima Strait, on either side of
Tsushima Island.
★ Deepest point: 3,742
meters below
sea level
★ Mean depth: 1,753 meters
★ Surface area: about 978,000
km²
The sea has three major
basins: the ''Yamato Basin'' in the southeast; the ''Japan Basin'' in the north; and the ''
Tsushima Basin (Ulleung Basin)'' in the southwest. The Japan Basin has the deepest areas of the
sea, while the Tsushima Basin has the shallowest.
On the eastern shores, the
continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometres wide.
The Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of
Kuroshio Current, flows northward through the Korea Strait along the Japanese shore, and the Liman Cold Current flows southward through the Strait of Tartary along the Russian shore.
The Sea of Japan was once a
landlocked sea when the
land bridge of
East Asia existed.
[2]
Economy
The areas in the north and the southeast are rich
fishing grounds. The importance of the fishery in the sea is well illustrated by the
dispute between South Korea and Japan over
Liancourt Rocks. The sea is also important for its
mineral deposits, particularly
magnetite sands. There are also believed to be
natural gas and
petroleum fields. With the growth of East Asian economies, the Sea of Japan has become an increasingly important commercial waterway.
Biology
The last documented observation of the
Japanese Sea Lion (''Zalophus californianus japonicus'') was a sighting of 50 or 60 individuals on Liancourt Rocks in 1951. These animals bred in flat, open, sandy beaches and were indigenous to the Northwest Pacific shores of Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Hunted to extinction by fishermen, there is some disagreement as to whether the Japanese Sea Lion were a distinct species or a subspecies of the
California Sea Lion.
[3]
Naming dispute
Main articles: Sea of Japan naming dispute
Although ''Sea of Japan'' is the commonly used term to refer to the sea amongst most other countries, both North Korea and South Korea have advocated for a different name to be used. South Korea has argued that it should be called the "East Sea"; North Korea, the "East Sea of Korea".
As a result of Korean objections to the name "Sea of Japan", about 25% of
English-language publications refer to it as 'Sea of Japan (East Sea)', incorporating a version of the Korean name. On August 27, 2007, the Ninth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names elected to retain the title of the body of water as "Sea of Japan". F. J. Ormeling, chair of the session, stated, "I encourage the three countries concerned to find a solution acceptable to all of them, taking into account any relevant solutions, or else to agree to differ and to report the outcome of these discussions to the next conference."
[4]
See also
★
Geography of Japan
★
Geography of North Korea
★
Geography of Russia
★
Geography of South Korea
References
1. Tides in Marginal, Semi-Enclosed and Coastal Seas - Part I: Sea Surface Height
2. Pre-Industrial Korea and Japan in Environmental Perspective Conrad D. Totman
3. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Zalophus japonicus
4. Kyodo News, "Despite Korean efforts, geographic conference backs Sea of Japan name", ''The Japan Times'', 29 Aug 07, [1]
External links
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