Sea of Japan

The Sea of ​​Japan is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean in East Asia ( Northwestern Pacific ).

Geography

It is located south and east by the Japanese islands, north of the island of Sakhalin and west bounded by the mainland of North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Connected to the Pacific, the Sea of ​​Japan by the Korea Strait in the south, the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and the La Perouse Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin, as well as the Sea of ​​Okhotsk by the Tatar Strait in the north.

Data

The Japan Sea has an area of ​​approximately 978,000 km ² at an average depth of 1,752 meters and a maximum depth of 4,049 meters. It can be divided into three basins: the northern Japan Basin is the lowest region, the Yamatobecken located in the southeast and the Tsushimabecken in the southwest. In Yamatobecken the water is shallowest on. Where the base is located at approximately 285 meters below sea level. The coasts of the eastern islands are wide and relatively flat, however, are the mainland coasts, especially in the west along the coast of Korea, steep, rough and rocky.

The Sea of ​​Japan, although even more colder than the Pacific on the other side of the islands is of great importance to the temperate climate in Japan. The fishing is an important economic factor for the littoral states; An inter alia the resulting conflict that affects the fishing areas, led to a dispute over the ownership of the Liancourt Rocks, which are claimed by Japan and South Korea and controlled since 1950 by South Korea.

In the Sea of ​​Japan, there are also deposits of minerals that are mined, but especially the sea is a major shipping route. Here are below the other islands Liancourt Rocks, Oki Islands, Okushiri, Rebun, Rishiri, Sado, Tsushima and Ulleungdo.

Name and the name dispute

Main article: name dispute over the Sea of ​​Japan

In the local languages ​​of the countries bordering the sea is in Japan and Russia, Sea of ​​Japan, known in North Korea Korean East Sea and East Sea in South Korea. The international name of the water body is disputed between countries. The governments of North and South Korea in particular are committed to ensuring that the name " East Sea of Korea " or " East Sea " is used instead of the name " Sea of ​​Japan ", or at least treated as equivalent. This proposal is far declined from Japan. Other states and international institutions have so far not taken a position, but continue using the name " Sea of ​​Japan ". In some western atlases and other non - official publications the term " East Sea " is used in parallel.