Japan prods U.S. to fix “East Sea” reference over N. Korea launches

Japan requested Thursday that the United States refer to the waters into which North Korea fired two ballistic missiles as the Sea of Japan and not “East Sea.”

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai. (Kyodo)

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai said at a news conference that Tokyo filed the request with Washington over the reference the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command made when it announced Pyongyang launched the missiles Thursday morning.

Calling the reference “inappropriate,” Sakai said, “It is our country’s position that the Sea of Japan is the single internationally-established name.”

Earlier, Capt. Mike Kafka, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command public affairs officer, said in a statement, “We are aware of North Korean missile launches this morning into the East Sea.”

“We will continue to monitor the situation and are consulting closely with our allies and partners,” the statement said. “The U.S. commitment to the defense of (South Korea) and Japan remains ironclad.”

Japan and South Korea have long been at odds over the name of the body of water between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul has called for the adoption of “East Sea,” claiming the name “Japan Sea” or “Sea of Japan” came into use under Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Tokyo, meanwhile, says the Sea of Japan, which became established in Europe around the end of the 18th century, has been upheld by the United Nations.

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