McDevitt, Michael A. and Dmitry Gorenburg

Abstract
This report addresses the major security issues associated with the Sea of Japan. It includes three essays: The first is a general overview of the role that the Sea of Japan (SOJ) has played in the security of East Asia. The second essay is a more detailed analysis of the dispute between Japan and South Korea over the Dokdo/Takeshima Islands. The third essay explores Japan’s other Sea of Japan dispute, which is with Russia over the Southern Kuril Islands or Northern Territories.
This report is one of five that are part of CNA’s Long Littoral project. The term “Long Littoral” refers to the five great maritime basins of the Indo-Pacific—the Sea of Japan, the East China and Yellow Seas, the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea— in order to provide a different perspective, namely a maritime viewpoint, on security issues that the United States’ “rebalance” strategy must address as it focuses on the Indo-Pacific littoral. The project also aims to identify issues that may be common to more than one basin but involve different players in different regions, with the idea that solutions possible in one maritime basin may be applicable in others. Click here to view the rest of the documents in the Long Littoral Project.
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