Despite a push by Korean Americans to name a body of water off the coasts of Korea and Japan the East Sea, the State Department is saying its sticking with Sea of Japan.
“The U.S. Government uses names decided by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names,” the Washington Post reported the State Department said in a statement. ” The U.S. Board on Geographic Names’ standard name for that body of water is the Sea of Japan. We understand that the Republic of Korea uses a different term. Per U.S. policy, we use only one name to refer to all high seas features. This is a long-standing U.S. policy that we apply all around the globe.”
Korean Americans have pushed legislation in three states to gain recognition for the East Sea name.
The Virginia legislature passed a measure that would require text books to mention both names. Similar legislation has been introduced in New Jersey and New York.
The centuries old dispute between Japan and Korea just recently washed up on US soil in the past two decades. You can read about how and why that came about in the Washington Post.
