Japan did acknowledge Dokdo as Korean territory
The lighthouse on Dokdo is in service in this file photo. Seen below is a stele indicating Dokdo is Korean territory. / Korea Times
Subsequently, new Japanese government maps did not lay claims on Dokdo untio 1905.
This is the first of a five-part series on lingering major issues
between Korea and Japan regarding their respective claims
on Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo. —— ED.
By Shim Jae-yun
Japan acknowledged Dokdo as Korean territory in 1877 in the form of an order from its State Council (now the prime minister’s office), which was back then the most powerful authority.
“Concerning the inquiry about Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and the other island (Dokdo), it is to be understood that this country (Japan) has nothing to do with them,” according to the State Council (Dajokan) Order issued on March 29, 1877.
The order came in response to a request by then Japanese home affairs ministry in the aftermath of the Meiji Restoration.
“At that time Japan embarked on compilation of national land registration map in a bid to expand its territory. It faced a dilemma over the issue of Ulleungdo and Dokdo and decided to refer it to the State Council, which was at that time the highest-level administrative body,” said Dr. Hong Seong-keun, a researcher at the Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAHF).
“The council concluded that the issue was already settled down with the deposition of Ahn Yong-bok which facilitated the development of state-level talks on Ulleungdo between Joseon and Japan, and eventually led Japan to recognize Ulleungdo and Dokdo as Korean territories,” he told The Korea Times.
The State Council (Dajokan) Order, dated on March 29, 1877, states that “Concerning the inquiry about Takeshima (Dokdo) and other island (Dokdo), it is to be understood this country (Japan) has nothing to do with them.” / Courtesy of NAHF
The simplified map of Isotakeshima also notes that “Joseon is approximately 50 leagues northwest of Isotakeshima (Ulleungdo).”
It confirms Dokdo as Korea’s (then Joseon’s) territory by saying, “Isotakeshima is approximately 40 leagues northwest of Matsushima (Dokdo), which is 80 leagues northwest of Fukuura in the Oki Islands.”
“From that time on, all Japanese maps did not include Ulleungdo and Dokdo as Japan’s territory until 1905,” Hong said.
The NAHF has recently released a booklet titled “Ten Truths About Dokdo; Not Known in Japan,” rebutting Japan’s claims to Korea’s easternmost islets.
Tension between Seoul and Tokyo has recently shown signs of escalating since the latter renewed its claims on the islets in a diplomatic paper.
NAHF also refutes Japan’s allegation that the United States suggested that Dokdo is under the jurisdiction of Japan while drafting the San Francisco Treaty.
“The General Headquarters of the Allied Powers had treated Dokdo as separate from Japan until the San Francisco Peace Treaty took effect after World War II. The General Headquarters applied SCAPIN-677 (Jan. 29, 1946), which provides that Dokdo, along with Ulleungdo, belongs to the area that is excluded from Japan’s governmental or administrative authority,” it said.
SCAPIN-677 is about governmental and administrative separation of certain outlying areas from Japan. It says, “for the purpose of this directive, Japan is defined to include the four main islands of Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shinkoku) and the approximately 1,000 smaller adjacent islands, ...excluding (a) Utsuryo (Ulleung) Island, Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo)...”
The Allied Powers’ decision to exclude Dokdo from Japan’s territory was part of postwar measures to implement the results from the Cairo Declaration (1943) and the Potsdam Declaration (1945), which obligated Japan to renounce territories it had taken by “violence and greed.”
Thus, Dokdo was rightly included as an area Japan should relinquish because it was Korea’s territory, which Japan usurped through violence and greed during the Russo-Japanese War. These measures taken by the Allied Powers were succeeded in the San Francisco Peace Treaty signed in September, 1951. Even though Dokdo was not explicitly mentioned in the treaty, it is only natural to see Dokdo as having been included in the Korean territory that Japan should relinquish, NAHF said.
The organization also rebuffed Japan’s allegation that there is no evidence Korea recognized the existence of Dokdo in the past. “Korea’s clear recognition of Dokdo is proven by ancient documents and maps including “The Map of Eight Provinces of Korea (Paldo chongdo). On fine days, Dokdo is visible to the naked eye from Ulleungdo.”
“The fact is also proven by numerous historical documents issued by the Korean government, including the Newly Enlarged Geographical Survey of Korea (Sinjeung Dongguk yeoji seungnam, 1531), Reference Compilation of Materials on Korea (Dongguk munheon bigo, 1770) and so on,” it added.
It also rejected Japan’s claim it established sovereignty over Dokdo in the mid-17th century.
“In 1618, during the early Edo period, the Oya and Murakwa families, who were residents of Yonago in Tottori domain, received permission from the Edo Shogunate for passage to Ulleungdo,” Japan claims.
In retort, the NAHF said, “Permission is not necessary for passage to one’s domestic islands. Thus, Japan’s claim itself demonstrates that Japan had not recognized Dokdo and Ullengdo as its territories.”