By JIRO OMURA/ Staff Writer
November 7, 2022 at 18:37 JST
SHIMANE—A Japanese academic has discovered a map published in the United States in 1897 that marks Takeshima, a group of islets claimed by both Japan and South Korea, as Japanese territory.
Rikinobu Funasugi, an associate professor of history and geography at Shimane University, revealed the map as evidence the islets, called Dokdo in South Korea, were internationally recognized as Japan’s territory even before the Japanese government officially incorporated the islands into Shimane Prefecture in 1905.
The map was produced by an encyclopedia publisher based in New York. It was in the possession of an individual from Okinoshima, a town with jurisdiction over the islands.
The islands have been a source of a longstanding territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea.
The map in question shows Japanese territory in yellow and Korean territory in pink.
The Takeshima islands were presented in a yellow hue, accompanied by their British and French names--the Hornet islands and Liancourt Rocks, respectively.
The British and French names were also listed in the index under Japanese territory.
Funasugi said the recent discovery of the U.S. map showing the islands as Japan’s follows others made by Britain, France and Germany--all of which describe the islets as Japanese territory.
Two-century-old map shows Takeshima isles as part of Japan
February 21, 2022
Korean course at high school on island nurtures self-reliance
July 14, 2022
Japan protests South Korean police chief’s visit to Takeshima
November 17, 2021
Provocative Japanese curry dish criticized by Korean media
October 11, 2021
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
A U.S.-made map published in 1897 shows the Takeshima islets in the Sea of Japan as Japanese territory. Both Japan and South Korea claim the islands as their own. (Provided by Rikinobu Funasugi)
