As South Korea and North Korea intensify their push within international bodies to rename or dual-label the Sea of Japan as the “East Sea,” this essay examines the issue as part of a broader campaign of relentless propaganda from the Korean Peninsula.
It sharply questions the responsibility of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Asahi Shimbun, NHK, and public commentators, while asserting that Japan must firmly defend the internationally established name “Sea of Japan.”

2019-04-01
The attitude of the Korean Peninsula is precisely a case of living out their characteristic trait: “If you repeat a lie 100 times, it becomes the truth.”
And loudly, at that.

Just now, when I saw the front-page article in this morning’s Sankei Shimbun, my blood pressure rose for an instant.
All emphasis in the text other than the headline, and the sections between asterisks, are mine.

“Sea of Japan”
Talks with South Korea and the North
Government accepts request from international body

“What on earth is this?” Every Japanese citizen must have thought so for a moment.

On the issue of the naming of the Sea of Japan, where South Korea and North Korea are insisting on either renaming it the “East Sea” or writing both names side by side, it became known on the 18th that the Japanese government, responding to a strong request from the International Hydrographic Organization, IHO, which publishes the guideline Limits of Oceans and Seas compiling the names of the world’s seas, has decided on a policy of holding informal consultations with the two countries.
The clash of views is decisive, and if the claims of South Korea and North Korea are accepted at the next IHO General Assembly, the guideline may be revised after more than sixty years, and the name “East Sea” could become internationally standardized.

According to multiple diplomatic sources, the informal talks among Japan, South Korea, and North Korea are expected this spring, with arrangements being made for bureau chief-level officials from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend.
The three countries are expected to work out their views concerning the guideline, whose third edition was published in 1953 and which designates this body of water as the “Japan Sea.”
The IHO side is asking that the results be reported at the 2020 General Assembly.

South Korea and North Korea first raised the naming issue at a United Nations conference in 1992, claiming that it was “a result of Japanese colonialism.”
At first, they demanded that the name be changed to “East Sea,” but in recent years they have argued for dual naming alongside “Sea of Japan.”
Within the IHO, revisions of the guideline had also been discussed since the 2000s, but the confrontation between Japan and South Korea and North Korea had prevented progress.
This round of talks was decided upon in a form that effectively let South Korea have its way, after it energetically carried out lobbying activities in various countries to push renaming or dual labeling.

What on earth were Japan’s Foreign Ministry, its media, and its public commentators doing when a country of such “bottomless evil” and “plausible lies” began a furious propaganda campaign to steal even the name of the Sea of Japan?
Reporters at Asahi Shimbun have written Takeshima, which Syngman Rhee illegally occupied in the chaos after Japan’s defeat, as “Takeshima (Dokdo)” in their articles.
In other words, in every possible matter, Asahi Shimbun and NHK have encouraged and emboldened the Korean Peninsula’s “bottomless evil” and “plausible lies.”
Japan should not only have shut down that newspaper company five years ago in August, but should also have confiscated all of its assets to compensate for the enormous losses Japan has suffered.
But even now, it is not too late.
It should be shut down immediately, and all its assets seized.
The moment such a decision is made, the Korean Peninsula will instantly stop forever its extortion, blackmail, and every other outrage against Japan.
In other words, this is an urgent task that Japan must undertake now.

Japan had been reluctant to engage in negotiations with North Korea, which had shown no willingness to resolve major issues such as denuclearization and the abduction issue, and had also maintained a posture of not accepting talks involving South Korea, with which relations had chilled over the so-called wartime labor issue.
However, with North Korea holding summit talks with the United States, Japan judged that it would be difficult to refuse on grounds of diplomatic posture.
In addition, the IHO secretariat had urged Japan to respond, saying that if it did not take part in the talks, the abolition of the guideline itself would be considered, and this too contributed to the policy shift.
At a press conference on the 18th, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “As a responsible member of the IHO, we intend to contribute constructively,” while emphasizing that “Sea of Japan is the only name that is internationally established. There is neither any need nor any basis to change it.”

The attitude of the Korean Peninsula is precisely a case of living out their characteristic trait: “If you repeat a lie 100 times, it becomes the truth.”
And loudly, at that.