Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan
Japanese name
Kanji
Hiragana
Hepburn Romanization	Nihonkai
Korean name (North Korea)
Hanja
Hangul
Revised Romanization	Joseon Donghae
McCune-Reischauer	Chosŏn Tonghae
Korean name (South Korea)
Hanja
Hangul
Revised Romanization	Donghae
McCune-Reischauer	Tonghae
Russian name
Russian
Romanization	Yaponskoye more

The Sea of Japan (East Sea) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea it has almost no tides owing to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific.

Physical characteristics

The sea is bound by the Japanese islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu and the Russian island of Sakhalin to the east, and the Korean peninsula and mainland Russia to the west.

It is connected to other seas by five shallow straits: the Strait of Tartary between the Asian mainland and Sakhalin; La Perouse Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaido; the Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu; the Kanmon Strait between the islands of Honshu and Kyushu; and the Korea Strait between the Korean peninsula and the island of Kyushu. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait, on either side of Tsushima Island.

Deepest point: 3742 metres below sea level
Mean depth: 1752 metres
Surface area: about 978,000 km².

The sea has three major basins: The Yamato Basin in the south east; the Japan Basin in the north; and the Tsushima Basin (Ulleung Basin) in the south west. The Japan Basin has the deepest areas of the sea, while the Tushima Basin has the shallowest.

On the eastern shores, the continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometres wide.

Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of Kuroshio Current, flows northward through the Korea Strait along the Japanese shore, and Liman Cold Current flows southward through Strait of Tartary along the Russian shore.

Economy

The areas in the north and the south east are rich fishing grounds. The importance of the fishery in the sea is well illustrated by the dispute over Takeshima (Dokdo). The sea is also important for its mineral deposits, particularly magnetite sands. There are also natural gas and a few petroleum fields. Since the growth of the East Asian economies, the Sea of Japan has become an important commercial waterway.

Naming

There is a controversy between Korea and much of the international community over what the name for this sea should be. Over the centuries, this sea has been called by various names. Most countries use the name Sea of Japan, but South Korea insists on East Sea. North Korea supports South Korea's position but uses East Sea of Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan CHOSON SINBO

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Physical characteristics

Economy

Naming