This Open Access book carefully examines the legal and historical bases of the territory of Japan as a modern State from the Meiji period to 2002. A new preface summarizes key developments in the situation up through 2022.
Japan's current territory is stipulated by the Potsdam Declaration (1945) and the Treaty of Peace with Japan (1951); it includes the Northern Territories, the Senkaku Islands, and Takeshima. Japan has demanded the return of the Northern Territories, comprising the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai, which are occupied by Russia. China has claimed sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, which are validly controlled by Japan; Japan has claimed sovereignty over Takeshima, which is occupied by the Republic of Korea.
This book analyzes the current status of these territorial topics, drawing on historical documents and international legal precedent, and it suggests peaceful methods to address them. In discussing territorial land, sea, and air space, this work touches upon postwar concepts defining modern international law and relevant rules on these subjects--exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelves, and air defense identification zones (ADIZs)--found in international treaties, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and related domestic laws.
About the Author: Serita Kentarō was born in 1941 in the former Manchuria. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Kyoto University. He has served as Professor of International Law in the Faculty of Law at Kobe University from 1981; Dean of the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies at Kobe University from 1994; and Professor Emeritus at Kobe University from 2004. He was also formerly the Dean of the Law School at Aichi Gakuin University and President of Kyoto Notre Dame University.
An expert in international law and international human rights law, he has authored many works, including Kenpō to kokusai kankyō (Japan's Constitution in the International Environment (revised edition)); Kokusai jinken jōyaku shiryōshū (The International Bill of Human Rights (document collection)); Eijūsha no kenri (The Rights of Permanent Residents); Fuhenteki kokusai shakai no seiritsu to kokusaihō (Building on the Global Community and International Law); Shima no ryōyū to keizai suiiki no kyōkai kakutei (Sovereignty over Islands and the Delimitation of Economic Zones); and various international treaties. In 2017, he received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon for his academic achievements.
