The Ryukyu people have had specific knowledge of the Senkaku Islands from the past.

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How were the waters and islands of Senkaku used in premodern times?

Satoshi HIRANO Published on December 18, 2020

Commentary Video

The Seas and Islands of Senkaku in the Premodern Era Part1

Commentary Video

The Seas and Islands of Senkaku in the Premodern Era Part2

In 1885, the Okinawa Prefectural Government carried out surveys of the Senkaku Islands at the instruction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and submitted an application for the incorporation of the islands under the jurisdiction of Okinawa Prefecture.

The Okinawa Prefectural Government submitted another application to the Central Government for the incorporation of the Senkaku Islands under Okinawa Prefecture, in view of the growing activities of private persons there. At the same time, Okinawa Prefecture had been attempting to manage the Senkaku Islands prior to their incorporation under the Prefecture in 1895.

Against the backdrop of growing activities by private citizens on the Senkaku Islands, Okinawa Prefectural Government continued its attempts to manage the Senkaku Islands, and submitted a third application in 1893 for the incorporation of the islands under Okinawa Prefecture.

Commentary Video

The Story of the Senkaku Islands’ Territorial Incorporation
Part 1: Okinawa Prefecture’s Investigations of the Senkaku Islands

Commentary Video

The Story of the Senkaku Islands’ Territorial Incorporation
Part 2: Backgrounds Behind Growing Fisheries Operations and Incorporation into the Prefectural Jurisdiction

Commentary Video

The Story of the Senkaku Islands’ Territorial Incorporation
Part 3: Groundless Assertions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC)

The third application by the Okinawa Prefectural Government was approved by the Central Government, and in 1895, the incorporation of the Senkaku Islands under the jurisdiction of Okinawa Prefecture was finally realized.

Japan has undertaken valid control of the Senkaku Islands through the exercise of administrative authority and other means after the incorporation of the islands into Japanese territory, and no protests were lodged by any country.

Both the Japanese government and private sectors have been involved in the Senkaku Islands, such as through the surveys and management of the Senkaku Islands by administrative agencie and implementation of academic surveys by the private sector.

The government has supported the development of the Senkaku Islands, and products acquired from the business activities on the Senkaku Islands have been actually used.

The United States (U.S. Forces) had consistently included the Senkaku Islands within the scope of the Ryukyu Islands even during WWII, and had placed the Islands under its administration after the occupation of Okinawa.

The United States (U.S. Forces) had placed the Senkaku Islands under its administration and used Kuba Island and Taisho Island as firing and bombing ranges. It also had recognized pre-WWII property rights and assets relating to the islands during its administration.

In 1955, a fishing vessel from Okinawa Prefecture was fired at near the Senkaku Islands by ships of unknown nationality. USCAR and the Government of the Ryukyu Islands were recognizing Uotsuri Island as islands under their administration and dealt with the incident accordingly.

The Ryukyu police had placed the Senkaku Islands under its administration, and exercised policing rights through conducting patrols around the islands.

Administrative agencies and research institutions conducted surveys and investigations on the Senkaku Islands after WWII just as they had done before the war, and have deepened their knowledge and insights about the islands.

At the end of the 1960s, the Government of the Ryukyu Islands took counter measures against illegal intruders on the Senkaku Islands in consultation with USCAR. Around the same time, groups from mainland Japan began conducting surveys on the Islands. It is only since the 1970s that China and Taiwan began their own assertions over the Senkaku Islands against the backdrop of potential oil resources in the waters around the islands.

With the growing attention to the seabed resources around the Senkaku Islands, the Government of Japan conducted surveys on the Senkaku Islands as well as submarine geological surveys on the waters around the islands.

On May 15, 1972, the Okinawa Reversion Agreement with the United States entered into force, and the administrative rights of Okinawa were returned to Japan. The Senkaku Islands were included in the geographical scope of Okinawa whose administrative rights were returned to Japan.