A. As its name suggests, international law is the law governing relations between States. Specifically, it consists of treaties and customary international law (the accumulated practices of States). International law, to which States are the parties, is extremely vast in scope; it covers virtually all areas of human activity, ranging from daily life to war, from the bottom of the ocean to outer space. As such, our lives are heavily influenced by international law without us knowing. Say, for instance, you wish to purchase a rare animal as a pet—the trade of that species may be prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or the Washington Convention). As another example, affordable universal postal service is available thanks to the many States that have signed the Universal Postal Convention and the Warsaw Convention.
A. My specific field of study is the international law of the sea, or "the law of the sea." Growing up, I lived on a hill overlooking Osaka Bay and always loved gazing out at the ocean. I was fascinated by the endless expanse of the sea, which has no dividing lines whatsoever. Then, in my graduate school days, I was intrigued by an international dispute that arose from politically drawn boundaries of the sea called the exclusive economic zones (EEZ). A Spanish fishing trawler was rounding up Greenland halibut, a fish stock that lives in Canada's EEZ, at a time when their seasonal migration had brought them into the high seas beyond the 200-nautical-mile EEZ boundary. Furious, Canada dispatched armed patrol ships to seize the trawler, and Spain responded by sending patrol boats of its own, leading to a confrontation. Can the oceans really be governed by politically drawn boundaries? My interest in the law of the sea grew out of that curiosity.
Q. What does the law of the sea stipulate?
A. The law of the sea involves various treaties, but its centerpiece is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. Japan joined in 1996, and as of today, 167 States and the European Union are parties of UNCLOS. Since UNCLOS sets forth comprehensive rules for the oceans, it is often described as a "Constitution for the Oceans."
One of the more famous rules is one that allows a coastal State to claim an EEZ up to 200 nautical miles (1 nautical mile is 1,852 meters, so approximately 370 kilometers) from its coastline (typically the low-water line). Within its EEZ, a coastal State has the sovereign right to conduct economic activities excluding other States. In addition, for the first time in history, UNCLOS set the breadth of the territorial sea at 12 nautical miles. It also regards the continental shelf as a natural extension of land territory, allowing a coastal State to claim the continental shelf up to 200 nautical miles in principle, and even beyond that under certain conditions. The territorial sea, EEZ, and continental shelf are collectively considered the sea areas under national jurisdiction.
Parts of the sea outside the jurisdiction of any coastal State are called "the high seas," and the seabed of the high seas is referred to as "the Area." The high seas are open to the free use of all States. In contrast, UNCLOS designates the Area as the "common heritage of mankind" whose mineral resources are to be managed by the International Seabed Authority headquartered in Jamaica.
Thus, it is essential to note that although UNCLOS grants coastal States large maritime areas and encourages the development of those areas, it also imposes obligations to conserve living resources and protect and preserve the marine environment. It can be said that sustainable development of the ocean is the spirit of UNCLOS. And under UNCLOS, States must not forget that having a larger sea area comes with greater responsibility.
A. Japan has a land area of about 380,000 square kilometers, ranking 61st in the world. This is only slightly larger than Germany's (around 360,000 square kilometers), which ranks 62nd. Meanwhile, Japan has a sea area of approximately 4.65 million square kilometers, said to be the sixth largest in the world (including the area of the continental shelf, which was recognized to extend beyond 200 nautical miles in 2012 under UNCLOS). In contrast, Germany's sea area is only around 30,000 square kilometers. Japan is an island nation whose territory is widely scattered throughout the ocean, and as such, its sea area is very efficiently generated by its islands.
Out of Japan's many islands, Okinotorishima Islands, the southernmost point of Japanese territory, are the most efficient in generating jurisdictional sea area. Although Okinotorishima Islands' reef encircles an area of only roughly six square kilometers, the islands generate a sea area of approximately 400,000 square kilometers, large enough to cover the entire land territory of Japan.
Q. What provisions does UNCLOS make regarding islands?
A. Article 121 of UNCLOS defines the regime of islands. Paragraph 1 of the article sets forth a definition for islands, establishing that "an island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide." Paragraph 2 states that, except as provided for in paragraph 3, the EEZ and continental shelf of an island are determined in the same way as that of other land territory. And paragraph 3 stipulates that "rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf."
At first glance, these provisions appear to be rather simple. In fact, they were deliberately left vague to allow for various interpretations, due to sharp disagreements between States when the article was being drafted. For example, if a high-tide feature satisfies the definition of an island under paragraph 1, does paragraph 3 not apply to it (because paragraph 3 refers to a "rock," not an "island")? How many people and how many years of living would be needed to meet the condition of "habitation" referred to in paragraph 3? In actuality, there are no clear standards to be found, even when tracing the drafting process of the article. In the end, the question of how to interpret this vague article was left to States to determine through subsequent accumulated practices.
Forty years have passed since the adoption of UNCLOS, and the prevailing interpretation is that an island refers to a high-tide feature that both satisfies the definition laid out in paragraph 1 and meets the conditions referenced in paragraph 3. However, when examining the accumulated practices of States, it appears that few States strictly interpret the conditions of paragraph 3.
A. Japan has one of the world's largest EEZs as an island country. It is necessary for Japan to not only show the size of that sea area on the map, but also demonstrate a vision for managing its vast sea area and, accordingly, its border islands. Such a vision would greatly help countries around the world that share the difficult challenge of managing remote islands and vast sea areas.
The spirit of UNCLOS—the sustainable development of the ocean—should be what guides the creation of this vision. Even Article 121, which distinguishes islands from rocks, can be interpreted in a way that aligns with this spirit: if a particular State's maritime claims of remote border islands are recognized under the article, then it becomes the duty of that State to protect marine life and the environment by prohibiting exploitative development within its sea area and continuously conducting scientific studies to advance the sustainable development of the ocean. Otherwise, the sterile debate over what makes an island or a rock will continue. And if a high-tide feature is determined to be a rock, then its surrounding waters will become part of the high seas and no State will bear the responsibility of environmental protection there, thereby opening up the possibility of exploitative development.
Port and harbor facilities are currently being constructed on Okinotorishima Islands and Minamitorishima Island. It is hoped that the international community will get the message that these facilities are not being built for the narrow purpose of clearing the requirements of Article 121, paragraph 3, but are what is minimally necessary to implement the spirit of UNCLOS in Japan's vast sea area. At the same time, if Japan can present a grand design for the management of Okinotorishima Islands, Minamitorishima Island, and other remote Japanese border islands and surrounding seas that demonstrates how sustainable development will be promoted in those areas, it will serve as a model for countries around the world sharing similar challenges. Creating this "Okinotorishima and Minamitorishima Model" is precisely the action Japan needs to take as a maritime nation made up of approximately 14,125 islands.
A. When thinking about Tokyo, I suspect many people only consider land area and picture it as an elongated administrative region stretching from east to west. But Tokyo Metropolis extends south to Hachijojima Island, and beyond to Okinotorishima Islands and Minamitorishima Island. Tokyo oversees the longest region measured north to south out of all local governments in Japan. If the common image of Tokyo in the minds of its citizens can be turned into one that includes the ocean and islands, I believe there will be heightened interest in challenges associated with islands and the ocean. In that sense, this very website that readers are viewing will contribute significantly to the formation of such a common image.
The official website of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government