EDITORIAL | Celebrating Our Seas Also Means Protecting Maritime Sovereignty

Japan is a major maritime nation. In fact, it is the sixth largest maritime nation in the world. It comprises 14,000 islands of various sizes. Meanwhile, the ocean area it controls, including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), covers approximately 4.47 million square kilometers of seas. That is more than 11 times Japan's land area.

We also have a duty to future generations to pass on the bountiful resources and beautiful nature the sea provides us.

Its rich resources and beautiful nature are precious assets bestowed on us. We celebrated this bounty on Marine Day, Monday, July 15. It was a day set aside for the Japanese people to express gratitude for these blessings and to pray for greater prosperity for Japan as a maritime nation.

History of Marine Day

Marine Day was established by law as a public holiday in 1995. It is celebrated every third Monday of July. Before that, it was also commemorated as Marine Memorial Day, although not as an official holiday.

Marine Memorial Day was established to mark the return of Emperor Meiji to the Port of Yokohama on July 20, 1876. That was the end of his voyage on the steamship Meiji Maru, which also took him to Tohoku and Hokkaido.

A Chinese maritime buoy thought to be similar in appearance to the one installed around the Senkaku Islands, Okinawa Prefecture. (From the website of the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Threats to Japan's Maritime Security

Nonetheless, the security of Japan's vast expanse of seas has come under continuous threat in recent years. For example, in June, a Chinese research vessel installed a maritime buoy in the Shikoku Basin, an area of the continental shelf on the ocean floor south of the Japanese Island of Shikoku.

Furthermore, this was the very same research vessel that planted an unauthorized buoy within Japan's EEZ in July 2023. That was in waters off the Senkaku Islands. Yet, this was only one instance of China's repeated intrusions into Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands. We must never tolerate such unilateral assertions of the right to develop maritime resources within our waters.

The South Korean oceanographic research vessel "HAEYANG 2000" conducted marine research activities in the waters surrounding Takeshima, Shimane Prefecture, without permission on June 6. (Photo provided by the 8th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters)

Illegal Occupation of Takeshima

Then there is the issue of Takeshima, which is part of Shimane Prefecture. Despite the fact that Takeshima exclusively belongs to Japan, South Korea has continued to illegally occupy it for decades.

Just in June, the South Korean authorities also carried out maritime surveys in waters near Takeshima on three occasions. That, despite the fact that South Korea was obligated to inform Japan ahead of time and receive permission before engaging in such conduct.

Japan asked Seoul to desist from such conduct, and filed protests with South Korea's foreign ministry. However, South Korea has not budged from its previous stance.

*Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture. (©Sankei by Kenji Suzuki)*

Japan's Inherent Forests and Seas

Although the Japanese government has repeatedly stated that it finds such situations "regrettable," that alone will not provide security for Japan's maritime areas. The time has come to respond firmly to such barbaric repetitions of lawless conduct by foreign countries designed to expand their maritime interests. Protecting our seas means protecting our national sovereignty and security.

Ryuko Kumagai, a poet living in Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture, has written: "The forest yearns for the ocean and the ocean longs for the forest, together weaving a love that has existed since time immemorial."

The blessings we receive from our sea and forests result from their mutual interaction. And Japan's bountiful seas and nature-blessed land are the result of the accumulated efforts of our ancestors, who cherished and nurtured them.

The government and the Japanese people together have a duty to preserve our beautiful homeland.

Each and every one of us should feel grateful for the blessings bestowed upon us by the sea and reaffirm our determination to "protect the ocean." That is the true significance of "Marine Day."