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Sea of Japan
Japanese name
Kanji	日本海
Hiragana	にほんかい
Hepburn Romanization	Nihonkai
Korean name (North Korea)
Hanja	朝鮮東海
Hangul	조선동해
McCune-Reischauer	Chosŏn Tonghae
Revised Romanization	Joseon Donghae
Korean name (South Korea)
Hanja	東海
Hangul	동해
Revised Romanization	Donghae
McCune-Reischauer	Tonghae
Russian name
Russian	Япо́нское мо́ре
Romanization	Yaponskoye more

The Sea of Japan (East Sea) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean.

Physical characteristics

The sea is bound by the Japanese islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu and the Russian island of Sakhalin to the east, and the Korean peninsula and mainland Russia to the west.

It is connected to other seas by five shallow straits: the Strait of Tartary between the Asian mainland and Sakhalin; La Perouse Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaido; the Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu; the Kanmon Strait between the islands of Honshu and Kyushu; and the Korea Strait between the Korean peninsula and the island of Kyushu. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait, on either side of Tsushima Island.

• Deepest point: 3742 metres below sea level
• Mean depth: 1752 metres
• Surface area: about 978,000 km².

The sea has three major basins: The Yamato Basin in the south east; the Japan Basin in the north; and the Ulleung Basin (Tsushima Basin) in the south west. The Japan Basin has the deepest areas of the Sea, while the Ulleung Basin has the shallowest.

On the eastern shores, the continental shelves of the Sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometres wide.

Economy

The areas in the north and the south east are rich fishing grounds. The importance of the fishery in the Sea is well illustrated by the respective claims on the Liancourt Rocks by South Korea and Japan. The Sea is also important for its mineral deposits, particularly magnetite sands. There are also natural gas and a few petroleum fields. Since the growth of the East Asian economies, the Sea of Japan has become an important commercial waterway.

Naming

There is a controversy between Japan and Korea over what the international name for this sea should be. Japan insists that it be called Sea of Japan. North Korea insists on East Sea of Korea, and South Korea insists on East Sea.

Over the centuries, this sea has been called by various names including East Sea, East Sea of Korea, Japanese Sea, Sea of Corea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Korea, and Oriental Sea. The name Sea of Japan was standardized by the International Hydrographic Bureau in 1919, when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule.

• Disputed waters
• Geography of Japan
• Geography of North Korea
• Geography of South Korea
• Geography of Russia
• Seas