Why Japan Really Wants Dokdo

According to the Asahi Shimbun Japan wants Korea’s Dokto island not because of nationalistic feelings but because of fishing rights.

A century ago, Shimane Prefecture claimed Takeshima island as part of its territory. The remote island is located in the Sea of Japan. On Thursday, a Shimane prefectural assembly committee approved a bill to designate Feb. 22 as “Takeshima Day.”

It aims to formally establish territoriality over the island, which is under de facto South Korean rule. The Shimane assembly’s plenary session is expected to adopt the bill next week.

It is not hard to see why Shimane wants this bill passed. An agreement between Japan and South Korea recognizes a wide area of the Sea of Japan as “provisional waters” under joint administration, where fishermen of both countries are allowed to operate unencumbered by the dispute over sovereignty. This area does not include the 12- nautical-mile zone around the island, which South Korea claims as part of its territorial waters.

Fishing communities in Shimane and other prefectures along the Sea of Japan coastline have been worried for some time that they are not getting a fair deal. They say South Korean ships are overfishing in the area.

It was these anxieties that fueled Shimane’s move to declare Takeshima Day on the centennial of its land-grab. In short, the bill reflects the concerns of local communities.

From what I have been told is that the waters around Dokdo are filled with fish. Apparently the Shimane prefecture just keeps bringing up the Tokto issue in an effort to put pressure on the South Korean government to open up the waters around the island to Japanese commercial fishing. I don’t see any chance of this happening though. The Koreans will never give up even the slightest bit of sovereignty over Tokto; even territorial waters.