In 1895, Japan claimed the Senkaku Islands for themselves. Five years later in 1900, a bonito factory was built, making it just about as inhabited as it will ever be. In 1940, the bonito factory closed down (I’m guessing to save resources for WWII), and then after Japan’s surrender, they gave the island, empty bonito factory and all, to the United States. Fast forward a few decades to 1972, where we see the US giving the islands back to Japan. At this point, both China and Taiwan are claiming the islands are theirs, seemingly out of nowhere. China said they discovered it in the 14th century. Taiwan, on the other hand, is just very close to the islands (a mere 76 nautical miles). It’s that little white dot with a red circle around it.

In recent times, the dispute mainly seems to be between China and Japan who have been on fairly tense terms for a long time. Recently, China has sent military vessels to and around the islands in a “military exercise.” If you’re from Taiwan you’ll know what “military exercises” should also include the word “muscle flexing” and “threat” somewhere in between. In addition to this, Chinese company “Giant Interactive Group” just released the video game “Glorious Mission Online” in collaboration with the Chinese military. In this game, it simulates the attack and invasion of the Senkaku Islands!  Quote: “Players… will fight alongside Chinese armed forces and use weapons to tell the Japanese that they must return our stolen territory,” they say in a press release. While this is entirely virtual, you can see why people might think of this as a wink wink nudge nudge saynomore saynomore situation.

But, why is this island so disputed? It’s an uninhabited island, after all. Does it just come down to a bunch of politicians trying to compare, uh, katana sizes? Or, is there something else going on here? Something ominous? Wait, is that a mysterious hatch I see in the satellite images? 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42…

The CIA’s Report

First of all, you can find the entire CIA report on the Senkaku Islands here, should you be interested. The report was written in 1971 and then “approved for release” on May 2, 2007, which hopefully means nobody in dark suits will be knocking on my door anytime soon. Interestingly enough, that dates the release of this article to before the recent flare-ups between Japan and China, so it’s not entirely new. It does, however, bring up an interesting perspective and thus allows us to see what part of the report has come true (or not true), as well as have an idea of what may be to come.

Still, there are some secrets. Several parts of the document are redacted, meaning anything could be in there. Oil? Weapons? Aliens? If nobody says it’s not aliens, I’m going to just assume it’s aliens, okay? Let’s go through this sucker.

The Discovery Of Oil

In 1969, the Japanese government sponsored a survey of the underwater geology around the Senkaku Islands. At this point, there really was no thought from really anyone that the Senkaku Islands belonged to anyone but the Japanese. After the survey, they released newspaper accounts that they had confirmed an earlier UN survey saying there was possibly a lot of oil to be had.

Niino’s team of Tokyo University scientists confirmed the UN survey findings. It established the existence of marine tertiary deposits, more than 6,000 feet thick, in the area surveyed. It also discovered that folding structures, identified as three large barriers and numerous small ridges, existed in several places. This was a significant finding, for it indicated the possibility that geological formations exist to entrap the oil forming elements that are almost certain to be found in the thick marine sediments.

Niino did go on to say that the report, while optimistic, was not enough evidence to really prove there was a bunch of oil down there. But, when oil is involved, people start to listen (and lay sovereignty claims to islands, apparently). You also have to understand the oil situation in Asia back in this time (and even now).

• Japan: Japan, in the 1970s, required the most oil out of all the involved parties. They were consuming 3.8 million barrels of crude oil per day, and it was expected that would quadruple in the next 15 years. 90% of Japan’s crude oil came from the Persian Gulf, and this oil represented 10% of Japan’s foreign imports.
• Taiwan: Petroleum products consumption doubled in the four years between 1965 and 1969 and oil accounted for 30 percent of the country’s energy requirements. Like Japan, they don’t have much domestic oil production, and they import over 90% of their crude oil.
• China: At this time, only around 10 percent of China’s energy consumption, and almost all of the oil needs are met with domestic production. Only 3 percent was imported, amazingly! But, we all know China was going to grow like gangbusters, so they were eager to find more oil to keep up with that demand.

So, there’s the oil situation for the three countries. All of them could use more oil, just like any country, to be honest. But, these were the three that had the best claims to the islands and the (possible) oil that lay below. So, in order to get all this oil, according to the CIA report, different parties did different things, some more persuasive than others.

What Everyone Thinks

It’s almost like Season 4 of Arrested Development. Everyone has their own perspective and story explaining why they think the islands belong to them or why they think the islands belong to someone else. I’m still trying to figure out who’s G.O.B. in this situation. I will make this island… disappear! du du duuh duhhhh. duh duh duh duh duhhh ♬

Kaw, ka-kaw, ka-kaw, ka-kaw

By looking at the various parties and positions in this CIA report, you can see how the story unfolds on parallel paths. What will happen when these paths converge to this story’s climax? Well, actually we don’t know yet, as there’s been no conclusion. But, we can see how it all got started, thanks to the CIA and their central intelligence.

Relating To Japan:

Of course, according to the CIA document Japan had quite the position on this dispute. They are, arguably, the center of the dispute. In fact, until the 1969 survey done by the Japanese government to try and confirm oil, pretty much everyone thought that the Senkaku Islands belonged to them, which means the burden of proof is put on everyone else, and Japan ought to be on the defense.

• 1970: Taiwan queries the Japanese Embassy in Taipei about the exact meaning of the term “Nansei Shoto” (Ryukyu islands) and whether or not it includes the Senkakus. While this is an innocent enough question, it’s the first time someone officially possibly maybe is going to challenge who the Senkaku Islands belong to. Japan immediately puts together a foreign office task force to “study international law pertaining to the continental shelf and territorial claims.” They know something is up.
• Summer 1970: A Taiwanese flag shows up on the Senkaku Islands and is removed. Also, the slogan “Long live President Chiang” (Taiwan) painted somewhere on the island is destroyed. A little bit later, Taiwanese fishing boats were allegedly told to leave by Japanese naval patrol boats. Both sides pretty much denied any involvement in either incident, but tension is obviously rising.
• Mid-September 1970: It goes without saying that the Japanese government officially lays down saying the islands belong to Japan and were not a matter of negotiation.

From the report, it basically says that Japan owns the islands. Anyone else who wants the islands will have to prove that it’s theirs, otherwise it defaults to Japan. Of course, not everyone was going to just lie down and take this, though.

Relating To Taiwan:

Out of all the involved parties, Taiwan is the closest to the Senkaku Islands. That being said, they haven’t had much contact or concern with it until now.

• Before 1969: Taiwanese fishermen came here. Sometimes they’d go on the island to collect bird eggs as well. When this happens the United States Civil Administration and the Ryukyu Government usually protests. The Taiwanese government is usually nice and cooperative about it, never claiming the land is theirs or anything like that.
• 1968: The original UN led survey that suggested there might be oil down there (this is the one that prompted the Japanese to run their own survey) had Taiwanese nationals aboard. Despite this (therefore knowing about the oil before the Japanese survey) they made no claims on the oil until a year later in 1969 after the Japanese survey.
• Taiwan grants a concession to American oil firm Gulf to explore the Continental shelf area around the Senkakus. One way they (informally) disputed Japan’s claims over the islands was by basing their case on the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which limited Japan’s sovereignty to the “four main Japanese islands.”
• 1969: Using Continental Shelf rules from the 1958 Geneva Convention, they claimed the Senkaku Islands should belong to them due to the natural prolongation of of their land territories. While I think this digs their hole deeper, they claimed that the Senkaku Islands were an extension of the China mainland, which is true, but they also claimed to be the rightful government of said China mainland. That didn’t work out for them, obviously, so this statement basically is saying they think that the Senkaku Islands belong to China, not them.
• 1971: In February, Taiwan publicly claimed the islands were theirs when the Taiwanese ambassador in DC requested that the United States “respect the sovereign rights of the Republic of China (Taiwan) over Tiao-yu Tai islets (Senkaku Islands) and restore them to the GRC (Taiwan)” when the US occupation of the Ryukyu Islands terminates.

Nowadays, I wouldn’t say Taiwan is really in the game for getting the Senkaku Islands anymore. I want to say a big part of it is 1) It’s going to be hard for anyone to claim these islands from the Japanese without some damning evidence and 2) they basically said it was a part of China, and even though they thought China ought to be Taiwan, times are a bit different now. They dug their own grave on this one.

Relating To The Ryukyu Government

The Ryukyu Islands, which were currently occupied by the US (and eventually to be given up by the US at a later date), were of course a little worried about this. The Senkaku Islands were part of the Ryukyu, after all! What would happen if the US government decided to give them to Japan? Or even Taiwan! If there’s going to be some oil let it help out the Ryukyu people (aka Okinawa), you know?

• Using the World Meteorological Organization, the Ryukyu government recognized Uotsuri-jima as part of the Ryukyus. They also claimed that before WWII the islands were under the jurisdiction of Ishigaki, the largest  city on Ishigaki Island of Yaeyama Gunto, a part of the Ryukyu that is fairly close to the Senkaku Islands.
• They also pulled up the USCAR Proclamation, Article I #27, which went over the “Geographical Boundaries in the Ryukyu Islands.” This proclamation put the Senkakus easily within US administration at the time.
• Ryukyu officials then announced that they had been receiving taxes annually from an individual who had the title to four of the Senkaku Islets. We’ll see more of this guy in a moment.
• September 1970: The Ryukyu government sent a delegation to Tokyo in regards to the protection of Ryukyu territorial rights over the Senkakus. It claimed the Senkakus were a part of the Ryukyus, and it also made it so that Japan had land very close to the Senkaku Islands. This is useful in case it comes down to the distance between the islands and various nations. You don’t want to be too far away from the islands you’re wanting to claim. The Ryukyu government knew this, and by trying to get Tokyo to agree, they were also making them agree that Ryukyu would get the islands and therefore help out the Ryukyu people (Oil moneeeyyyy!).

In the end, though, the Ryukyu were under the control of the US. And, whatever the US wanted to do, they could do. Still though, it helped to set the stage for later on after the US handed control of the islands to Japan, possibly.

Relating To China

China was a fairly new nation during this time, so it’s interesting to see what they were doing. Of course, the CIA had their eyes on China to see what they’d do (along with Taiwan).

• 1958: China proclaims a 12-mile territorial sea. This does not put the Senkaku Islands within their territorial grasp.
• 1969: Taiwan and Japan issues start to flare up. While it’s said China was probably interested in this oil, they didn’t show it (yet). They kept quiet and let Japan and Taiwan duke it out. It’s probable they didn’t have the offshore drilling technology needed to even take advantage of this anyways.
• August/Sept 1970: Hsin-wan Pao and Ta-kung Pao published articles talking about how Japan and the US were “plundering” the oil reserves of China. They also claimed that Taiwan was selling out to the United States, so nothing new here. It is, however, the first wrinkles of Chinese interest in the Senkaku Islands.
• December 1970: The New China News Agency broadcast claimed that the Senkaku Islands were part of China’s continental shelf, making it Chinese. They claimed that Japan’s push for the oil under the Senkakus was to fuel their growing military establishment.
• China was also worried that this would cause cooperation between Japan and Taiwan, further complicating the whole “Taiwan existing” thing.
• Peking also begins to support a “200-mile territorial sea” claim, like those in Latin Amercan nations. They also go on to support the right of countries to determine their territorial sea limits “in accordance with their geographical conditions and geological and biological characteristics as well as the need of a rational use of their own resources.” Basically, they tried to make things as loosey goosey as possible so that they’d be able to claim the Senkaku Islands (and Taiwan itself, theoretically) based on this.

Based on Continental shelves, China does have a moderately decent claim, though. It’s the same claim Taiwan was trying to make while it was saying China ought to belong to them as well.

You can actually see the continental shelf right here. The dark parts are where things get really deep, and in theory they sort of break apart regions under the water. You can see the Senkaku Islands are Northwest of that small dark spot, showing where the (Chinese) shelf ends. On the other side is the line of Ryukyu Islands, which belongs to the US (at the time) and Japan (now). By this logic Taiwan would be a part of China as well.

While I don’t agree, it is the strongest claim the Chinese have for the islands. If this thing is banged out enough and gets to some kind of world court, they could use this evidence to claim the islands. It’d still be a long shot, but anything’s possible if the glove doesn’t fit.

Relating To The US

At this point in time, the US is occupying the Ryukyu Islands, and in their minds, the Senkaku Islands as well.

• Early in their administration of the Ryukyus, the US set up two of the Senkaku islets as gunnery ranges, one of which they paid $11,000 in rent for in 1971. The person receiving the money, the US says, pays taxes to the Ryukyu government (remember that from the Ryukyu section?), thus making the land Ryukyu territory.
• The other islands, however, were considered Japanese territory, so now during the occupation the US can use them without cost. Obviously, the US considers the Senkaku Islands as Japanese. They also consider themselves occupying it.
• 1969: USCAR established a policy stating that US approval was necessary prior to Ryukyu (or third party) use of the tidelands or waters. Once again, US controlled.
• 1970: The US tried not to get involved until now, when the Taiwanese and Japanese government started to really heat up about who owned it. After making some statements on the situation, they helped to form the Tripartite Committee in the summer of 1970. The committee between national leaders in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea (where’d you come from, South Korea?) thought it would be a good idea to create a join-venture company for ocean development. This is what triggered the 1970 Chinese accusation that the joint development plan was really a trick “instigated by Japanese militarists, aided and abetted by “the Chiang Kai-shek bandit gang and the Pak Jung Hi clique, and whose purpose was the plundering of the seabed and undersea oil resources of China and Korea (I’m guessing North Korea is what they’re talking about here).
• December 1970: The Tripartite Committee met again, and agreed on a broad purpose: the “planning and execution of surveys, research and development of marine resources.” They also agreed to keep their negotiations out of formal international diplomatic channels unless it seemed favorable. They agreed they’d be able to do independent surveys around the islands.
• Due to the domestic troubles of the various nations, though, the Tripartite Committee was falling apart. On top of this, China was expressing its concern over the whole matter, supposedly (according to the CIA) trying to delay everything until they had the technology to go out there and run their own surveys / drill their own wells. Their oil economy was still maturing, and they needed some time, so they were stalling.

Mainly, though, the US played a watchful role, only stepping in when things got a little too spicy. They had their opinion, sure, but they also didn’t want to get too involved. They would have to hand off the Ryukyu Islands at some point anyways, so its best not to get your hands too dirty, right?

Relating To The Cartographers

Apparently old maps is one way that people settle claims on what belongs to who. So, the cartographers get a say! Let me “map” the whole thing out for you.

• 1966: The “Red Guard” atlas published in Peking during the Cultural Revolution includes a map of the internal administrative areas of Communist China. It indicates the Senkaku Islands area as someplace that’s not within China’s border. It also indicates the Ryukyu Islands as Japanese, though there’s nothing new there. Another map in the same atlas shows Taiwan as part of China, but excludes the Senkaku Islands unlike later maps which quietly add the islands in with Taiwan as part of China.
• 1967: The same maps are shown in the “popular edition” of Atlas of China, a book published in Peking. In these maps, though, they also include “areas of dispute” on the maps. The Senkaku Islands are not included in these areas, so according to this map, at least, the Senkaku Islands are indisputably Japanese.
• 1970: After oil was discovered, Chinese maps began including the Senkaku Islands as Chinese. China’s Ministry of National Defense published an Atlas of China showing the Senkakus in both the Chinese and Japanese language. In 1962, the earlier version of this map didn’t name the islands at all.
• A random selection of maps printed in Europe and privately published do not indicate the area of the Senkakus to be Chinese. Also, the 1967 version of the USSR’s official Atlas Of The World specifically indicates the Senkakus to be Japanese.

Who knew maps could be so useful! It’s interesting to see how they quietly change depending on what’s going on with oil and politics. Looking up the Senkaku Islands in Google Maps right now, it seems they’ve taken a safe stand on the issue. There’s both the Chinese/Taiwanese name and the Japanese one with no country attached at the end. Well played, Google Maps. Well played.

Who Does It Belong To?

So that’s the report given by the CIA! It’s surprisingly not that much different from the way things are now. Nobody’s drilling the Senkaku Islands, and China’s still claiming the islands are theirs. In fact, tensions only seem to be rising in recent months/years, despite all this time going by. Can you believe that 1970 was over forty years ago? I know I can’t. I guess some things will never change.

If you want, you can read the original CIA report here. I wonder what’s in the redacted parts! Dun dun dunnnn.

Bonus Wallpapers!

[1280x800], [2560x1600], [Animated 1280x800], [Animated 700x438]

Thanks to /r/Japan for the lead!

Luckily for you, I’ve done extensive research, cracked the case, and can say with utmost certainty who has the rights to lay claim to the islands.

The Senkaku Islands and How it All Began

Before this whole deal made its way into the media, I didn’t really know much about the Senkaku Island debate, let alone where these islands were. The Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu as they are known in China, are a group of five uninhabited islands and three barren rocks located in the East China Sea between Japan, Taiwan, and China, with all three countries laying claim to them.

Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government formally annexed what was known as the Ryukyu Kingdom as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. The Senkaku Islands, which lay between the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Chinese Qing Empire, became the boundary between the two nations.

In 1885, Japan considered taking formal control of the Senkaku Islands. However, the islands had been given Chinese names, Chinese newspapers were claiming that Japan was occupying islands off of China’s coast, and Japan just didn’t really want to make the Qing Empire suspicious of anything by annexing the islands. As such, the request to initiate formal control over the islands was rejected.

In 1895, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan decided to incorporate the islands under the administration of Okinawa, stating that it had been conducting surveys there since 1884 and that the islands effectively didn’t belong to anyone, with there being no evidence to suggest that they had ever been under the Qing Empire’s control.

After China lost the Sino-Japanese War, both countries signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki which stated that China would surrender the island of Taiwan together with all islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Taiwan.

The tricky part here is that there was no agreement as to who had control over the Senkaku Islands prior to this, so it is debatable as to whether or not the Senkaku Islands were actually included as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. This detail is important because the treaty was rendered moot when Japan lost World War II in 1945. The Treaty of San Francisco nullified prior treaties concerning the area.

Like I said, there is a disagreement between the Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese governments as to whether or not the islands are implied to be part of the “islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Taiwan” in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. China and Taiwan both dispute the Japanese claim to the island by citing Japan’s abovementioned reasons to turn down the request to incorporate the islands in 1885. Both China and Taiwan assert sovereignty over the islands.

The Coverup

Unfortunately for Japan and China, the abovementioned history means absolutely nothing. Through my extensively painstaking research on the topic, I uncovered the greatest government conspiracy coverup fiasco known to man. Neither Japan, China, or Taiwan have the right to claim the Senkaku Islands as their own.

I discovered that shortly after Lithuania’s personal union with Poland in 1386, a brave and handsome Lithuanian man set out on a sailing expedition from the port city of Klaipėda in search of fame and fortune. Tragically, the ships did not return for they had become irreparably damaged and moored on a rocky, uninhabited archipelago in a strange and distant sea.

The captain of the ship detailed the landscape and surroundings in his journal as he slowly passed away from starvation. He wrote of his dreams and aspirations, his love for his country, and claimed the archipelago in the name of his family.

This man was my ancestor. I traced back the lineage and I found that I am the true heir to the Senkaku Islands. Both the Chinese and Japanese governments know this and they’ve tried to hide the fact that the islands belong to me and my family with their made up histories and elaborate fairy tales. I profess that I am the only one who may rightfully lay claim to these lands. I declare myself high king of the Senkaku Islands.

But just for fun, let’s explore why China and Japan think that they have the right to claim the area and not me.

The Current State of Affairs

The Senkaku Islands are currently administered by Japan, but Taiwan and China both lay claim to them as well. The United States occupied the islands after World War II from 1945 to 1972 and even though they do not have an official position on the validity of the competing sovereignty claims, the islands are included within the U.S. Japan Security Treaty. This means that if Japan needed to defend the islands, it would be likely to compel action by the United States military.

Both China and Japan indicated their sovereignty claims with respect to the islands to the United Nations Security Council at the time of the US transfer of its administrative powers to Japan after its occupation in 1972. Sovereignty over the islands would give Japan exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in surrounding waters.

Basically what happened was that the US handed the islands over to Japan, and China wasn’t too happy about it because they believed it should be placed in their hands, not Japan’s.

China’s Claim to the Islands

It seems that China really didn’t put up too much of a fuss about these islands until after it was discovered that there might be oil reserves under the sea surrounding the islands. The study was conducted in 1968, and the Chinese started getting really adamant over their claims to the region shortly thereafter, especially with the US choice to hand control of the region over to Japan. From the Chinese perspective, this is what it looks like for the Senkaku Islands.

1. China claims the discovery of the islands for themselves, citing early recordings of such in old maps and travelogues.

2. The islands were China’s frontier off-shore defense against wakou (Japanese pirates) during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) and an old Chinese map of Asia as well as a map compiled by a Japanese cartographer in the 18th century show the islands as being a part of China.

3. As mentioned above, Japan took control of the islands during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 by means of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. But a letter from the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1885 warning against annexing the islands due to anxiety about China’s response, shows, in China’s opinion, that Japan knew the islands were not actually “up for grabs.”

4. The Potsdam Declaration stated that “Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such minor islands as we determine,” with “we” being the victors of the Second World War, including the Republic of China. Japan accepted the terms of the Declaration when it surrendered and China sees this as a reason for stating they have rights to the islands in question.

5. Both China and Taiwan never endorsed the US transfer of the islands to Japan in 1970s.

Japan’s Claim to the Islands

The Japanese stance on the issue is that there isn’t even an issue at all. Japan believes that there is no territorial issue that needs to be resolved over the Senkaku Islands whatsoever. In a counter to the abovementioned Chinese points, Japan has stated the following.

1. According to Japan, the islands have been uninhabited and have showed no trace of being under Chinese control prior to 1895.

2. The islands were neither part of Taiwan nor part of the Pescadores Islands, which were ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Therefore, the Japanese believe their claim to the islands was not affected by the San Francisco Peace Treaty.

3. Though the islands were controlled by the United States as an occupying power between 1945 and 1972, Japan was given and has exercised administration over the islands ever since.

4. Taiwan and China only started claiming ownership of the islands in 1971, following a May 1969 United Nations report that a large oil and gas reserve may exist under the seabed near the islands.

So, as one can see – they are simply bickering over lands that they have no legitimate stake in. Those islands are mine and I’m considering submitting a formal complaint of sorts, but I fear that without widespread worldwide support, I will fall victim to the same fate as many Japanese businesses and establishments in China as I’m sure the validity of my claim will be questioned.

The Anti-Japanese Demonstrations

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcmv63j6vPA']

Over the years there have been plenty of demonstrations concerning the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. Lately, there’s been a resurgence of them in China, mostly due to Shintaro Ishihara’s decision to let Tokyo Municipality purchase three of the Senkaku islands from their current Japanese owners (the Kurihara family), placing them under state control. The Chinese government angrily protested, stating, “No one will ever be permitted to buy and sell China’s sacred territory.”

On August 15th, activists from Hong Kong sailed to and landed on one of the disputed islands, but were stopped by the Japan Coast Guard. The activists and their ship were detained by Japanese authorities and were deported two days later.

China wasn’t happy about this either.

In Beijing, citizens of began protesting in front of the Japanese embassy and protestors called for the return of the Diaoyu Islands and for Japan to confess her crimes. Chinese protestors marched down the streets chanting slogans such as “Defend the Diaoyu Islands” and “Smash Japanese Imperialism.” They called for the boycott of Japanese goods and for the government to retake the islands. Japanese flags were defaced, Japanese cars were smashed, and shops selling Japanese goods were vandalized.

According to Sing Tao Daily, the Chinese government sent in large numbers of armed police, who called for an end to the violent protests, drove the protesters away, and detained a handful of them.

The riots are also being condemned by a great amount of Chinese citizens and many are hoping for a soon to be realized peaceful solution as can be seen from posts on Sina Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, used by well over 30% of Internet users in China with more than 300 million registered users).

When I first saw the horrific scenes, I was so ashamed of my own race, seeming so barbaric and outrageous through the lens, that at one point, I felt that such a lawless nation will never have any hope of becoming a peace-loving superpower that is deserving of respect, and that there is no point of staying in a country that can come to Armageddon so easily.

But after reading posts that have flooded Sina Weibo, most of which vehemently condemned such violence, I realize that while the rabble and the crimes they’ve committed in the name of love for China have irreversibly smeared the image of Chinese people, there are much more people who have utter contempt for them.

-Jing Gao – MinistryOfTofu.com

Currently, the official stance of the involved parties is as follows: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging people to express thoughts “rationally and within the law,” Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda wants China to prevent anti-Japan violence, Taiwan is annoyed but being ignored by pretty much everyone, and the United States just wants everybody to calm down.

As one can see, there’s a lot of stuff going on and the people and the governments are trying to figure out the best way to proceed with everything. Normally, I wouldn’t take a stance on these sorts of situations as they’re usually not entirely black and white cases, but these islands are obviously mine to claim. This I know for sure. Another thing I know for sure is that it’s a bad time to be the owner of Japanese goods in China with all the riots going on. Yikes.

Actually, this Happens a Lot

Unfortunately, territorial disputes are a pretty common thing between Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries. Koichi actually wrote about this a while ago in his post about all the current land disputes Japan is involved in.

Just recently at the London Olympic games a South Korean player got in big trouble for displaying a sign with a slogan supporting South Korean sovereignty over disputed islets that are claimed by both South Korea and Japan (called Dokdo in South Korean and Takeshima in Japan). There’s a small chance that these islets belong to my family as well, but I won’t get into that here.

And then of course there’s the whole China/Taiwan deal along with a slew of countless other issues plaguing the region. It would seem that territorial disputes are more rampant in the Asia Pacific are than any other, a full list of which can be found here. I’m sure there will always be plenty of disputes regarding the lands in the area, especially when they’re uninhabited islands such as the Senkaku. My only hope is that the issues can be resolved peacefully.

I’m not even going to get into all the other supposed stakes my family has in distant lands that are currently up for dispute, but here’s where you come in. I need you to help rally support for the cause and get the Senkaku Islands back into their rightful hands. Mine.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on the whole Senkaku Island dispute? Any important details I forgot to touch on? Who do you think has the most valid claim to the islands – Japan, China, Taiwan, or yours truly? What do you think should be done to resolve the issue at hand? Let us know in the comments!

Sites Referenced:
Senkaku Islands Wikipedia
2012 China Anti-Japanese Demonstrations Wikipedia

Who are these people!??

I like to see what people are searching for in regards to Google sometimes. I put in “Japan” as a keyword, and asked Google to tell me related terms. I was surprised to find that 68 million people per month are searching for the term “where is Japan” with 13,600,000 of those searches coming from America. Whew, I guess we only make up 20% of the world’s geographically challenged population.

But, I can’t just write about where Japan is. That would be silly. You can find the answer to that easily (or, you can just look at this map. See giant red arrow).

Hopefully you can find a country you do know to figure out where Japan is in relation

But that’s not the whole story. There’s more to it than just this. Japan isn’t just there… it’s a little more complicated than that. We can’t just ask “Where Is Japan?” and get away with a shoddy map with a big red arrow. Let’s dive deeper.

Where Is Japan: Contested Islands Version

Japan isn’t particularly friendly with its geographical neighbors. It’s not an all-out-brawl, but nobody’s getting invited over for Sunday Night Bridge. There are a number of islands near and around Japan that Japan thinks they own. At the same time, other countries think that they own them. So who owns them? I’m not sure, but they’re kind-of-sort-of Japanese islands, so you have to at least think about them when you ask the questions “Where Is Japan.”

Kuril Islands

The Kuril Islands are the islands to the North of Japan which (supposedly) are part of Hokkaido. Russia, on the other hand, doesn’t think this is part of Japan. Why the dispute? After World War II during the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan was told to give up all claims to the Kuril Islands. Japan, on the other hand, doesn’t accept this because in 1855 during the Treaty of Shimoda borders were created during this first diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union where it was agreed that the border would be between Urup and Iturup. On top of that, in 1875, Russia traded all the islands in exchange for Sakhalin, which is this big red island. Pretty good deal, I’d say.

Awesome trade for Russia

Even later in 1905 (right after the Russo-Japanese war), Japan got the southern half of Sakhalin back (someone’s getting island greedy). So, besides Sakhalin, they sort of have decent claim on at least some of these islands, I’d say.

Lots has gone on lately with the Kuril Islands, too. The European Parliament recommended Russia return the Islands to Japan in 2005 (though Russia wasn’t about to do that). Later, Putin offered to return Shikotan and Habomai to Japan if they could have the other two, but these two islands only consisted of 6% of the area. Japan retaliated (very nicely) by offering financial aid to the islands if they were given back, but this didn’t work because the economy was getting better around there (we don’t need your dirty yen, Japan). Japan later went so far as to add these islands into textbooks for school kids showing them as part of Japan.

It’s not all bad, though. There’s been lots of talks about it and Russia has even made it so Japan can visit the islands visa-free and Japanese fishermen can fish there. Still though, Russia has been building up military defenses on the island, including amphibious assault ships and anti-air missile systems.

Really, though, I’d say the Kuril Islands are pretty tame compared to some of the other island disputes. It’s a lot less of a crybaby battle and a lot more diplomatic, not like the next two islands.

You can find more info on the Kuril Islands here.

Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands

Middle of nowhere island

The Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands dispute is a little bit more interesting, I think. These islands are east of China, North East of Taiwan, and South West of Okinawa (and Island that is part of Japan). What’s so interesting about these islands? They’re uninhabited. They are pretty though, at least.

Is that a secret hatch I see protecting some deep, dark secret?

Japan claimed these islands in 1895 and gave them up to the United States after World War II (sensing a theme here?). In 1972, the US gave back the islands (because really, they’re kind of worthless as far as islands go) and then China and Taiwan immediately started claiming that they actually owned the islands. China said they discovered the islands in the 14th century, and Taiwan just wants to piss of China anytime they can, so I’m guessing that’s why they laid claim (oh, that and they’re much closer to the islands compared to both Japan and China).

Still though, in 1900 Japan built a bonito factory on one of the islands, making it more inhabited than its really ever been in modern history. Although this delicious bonito stopped getting manufactured in 1940 and the islands got deserted, I’d say this is a pretty decent claim. Overall if I were the God of Undisputing Islands, I’d give it to Taiwan. They’re 76 nautical miles away from the island, compared to Okinawa (220 nautical miles) and China (pretty far away).

This set of islands, though, is really just a case of national pride getting in the way of reason. Unless there’s some hidden resources or special use for these islands, that’s the only other explanation I can think of. This gets worse in the next disputed island.

You can find out moree about the Senkaku Islands here.

Takeshima Island / Dokdo

Let me get my magnifying glass...

The Takeshima Islands / Dokdo Islands (Korean), also known as Liancourt Rocks (because it consists of a few rocks) that are disputed by both Japan and Korea (you can see it’s between the two nations in the East Sea / Sea of Japan). As you can see from the picture below, there are two main rocks islands, and (what you can’t see) 35 smaller rocks sticking up around it. There’s a light house on the Eastern Island along with two Korean citizens (an octopus fisherman and his wife) along with a small police detachment, administrative personnel, and lighthouse staff (though these are non-permanent residents who probably really, really can’t wait to get home).

South Korea thinks these islands are part of the Ulleung Island government. Japan thinks these islands are part of the Oki Islands government. Overall, though, I’d say Korea has a better claim to this one. They have two permanent residents (which is an infinite number more than Japan has), over a thousand tourists who visit (it’s a nature reserve), and other non-permanent people on the island as well. Korea agrees with this sentiment as well – apparently on the ferry ride over to the Liancourt Rocks they show an animated film where a “giant Robot Taekwon V figure soars up out of the sea and routs Japanese pirates trying to invade Dokdo.” To be fair, the giant robot is protecting a couple of really nice looking rocks.

The only thing missing is a gaming cafe for the island residents to get their SC2 ladder time in

As of right now, there’s definitely very little claim that Japan could have on these islands. In recent years, Korea has built the lighthouse, a helicopter pad, a South Korean flag (visible from the sky! Ancient Aliens??), two desalinization plants, cell phone towers, and a police barracks. On top of this, Korea sends students from 62 elementary, middle, and high schools on field trips to the islands (no fair, I only got to go to the landfill / water treatment plants for my crappy field trips). They’ve made stamps with the islands on them, and wrote a textbook about the islands for kids to learn from.

Still, though, Japan has done things like create a “Takeshima Day” pretty much just to fan the nationalistic fires of the two nations. If I were Japan, I’d stick to focusing on the Kuril Islands – There’s more stuff there, anyways.

You can find out more about the Takeshima Islands Dokdo Islands here.

So, Where Is Japan, After All?

Well, to be honest, it’s pretty much exactly where you thought it was this whole time (assuming you knew where Japan was in this world in the first place). When it comes to the three main disputed islands, though, overall I’d say Japan isn’t in any of those locations. The closest they come is the Senkaku Islands, but is it actually worth all the hassle? Maybe, maybe not. Nationalism will do funny things to people, especially considering there’s no people on Senkaku.

Still, almost all of these contested situations come from Japan’s old rivals from World War II (and before). Not a lot of good history between Korea, China, Russia, Most Of Asia, and Japan. All that’s fairly far in the past now, and Japan isn’t the same imperialistic territory grabbing country of its past, but people still remember, and lots of prides are at stake, causing most of these disputes.

But, what will you say now when someone asks you “Where is Japan?”

I’d just point on a map, to be honest, and then tell this person to study their geography a little more. All this other stuff is probably way too complicated for them if they can’t find Japan in the first place.

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