The Sea of Japan is the

marginal sea This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. In many cases it is a matter of tradition for a body of water to be named a sea or a bay, etc., therefore all these ...

between the

Japanese archipelago The is an archipelago of list of islands of Japan, 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China Sea, East China and Philippine Sea, Philippine seas in the southwest al ...

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

, the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

, and the mainland of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Like the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, it has almost no

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean. This isolation also affects faunal diversity and

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

, both of which are lower than in the open ocean. The sea has no large islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and the Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%. The seawater has an elevated concentration of

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It can ...

that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region. The intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

n economies.

Names

''Sea of Japan'' is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and the name in most European languages is equivalent, but it is sometimes called by different names in surrounding countries. The sea is called (, literally 'Japan Sea') in Japan, (, 'Japan Sea') or originally (, 'Whale Sea') in China,2006
“鲸海”这个名字如何改成了“日本海”
. Retrieved on 7 March 2017 (, 'Japanese Sea') in Russia, (, literally 'Korean East Sea') in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and (, literally 'East Sea') in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Naming dispute

The use of the term "Sea of Japan" as the dominant name is a point of contention. South Korea wants the name "East Sea" to be used, either instead of or in addition to "Sea of Japan;"East Sea or "Sea of Japan"
. Korea.net. Retrieved on 21 March 2013.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea, 2005 while North Korea prefers the name "East Sea of Korea".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan The primary issue in the dispute revolves around a disagreement about when the name "Sea of Japan" became the international standard. Japan claims the term has been the international standard since at least the early 19th century, while the Koreas claim that the term "Sea of Japan" arose later while Korea was under Japanese rule, and before that occupation, other names such as "Sea of Korea" or "East Sea" were used in English. In 2012, the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

(IHO), the intergovernmental organization that maintains a publication listing the limits of ocean and sea areas around the world, abandoned its most recent of several attempts in the last 25 years to revise its publication of the sea's name. This was primarily because of the lack of agreement between the Koreas and Japan over the naming issue. In September 2020, the IHO announced that it would adopt a new numerical system, also known as "S-130". In November 2020, S-23, the previous version of the nautical chart made in 1953 will be made public as an IHO publication to demonstrate the evolutionary process from the analogue to the digital era. The IHO approved the proposal of the new official nautical chart. The new chart will be marked with a numerical identifier without a name.

History

For centuries, the sea had protected Japan from land invasions, particularly by the Mongols. It had long been navigated by Asian and, from the 18th century, by European ships. Russian expeditions of 1733–1743 mapped Sakhalin and the Japanese islands. In the 1780s, the Frenchman

Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse Commodore (rank), Commodore Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (; 23 August 1741 – ) was a French Navy officer and explorer. Having enlisted in the Navy at the age of 15, he had a successful career and in 1785 was appointed to lea ...

, traveled northward across the sea through the strait later named after him. In 1796, a British naval officer,

William Robert Broughton William Robert Broughton (22 March 176214 March 1821) was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS ''Chatham'' as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through t ...

, explored the Strait of Tartary, the eastern coast of the

and the

. In 1803–1806, the Russian navigator

Adam Johann von Krusenstern Adam Johann von Krusenstern (; 10 October 177012 August 1846) was a Russian admiral and explorer of Swedish and Baltic German descent, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth in 1803–1806. Life Krusenstern was born i ...

while sailing across the globe in the ship ''Nadezhda'' also explored, in passing, the Sea of Japan and the eastern shores of Japanese

islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

. In 1849, another Russian explorer

Gennady Nevelskoy Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (; in Drakino, Soligalichsky Uyezd, Kostroma Governorate – in St. Petersburg) was a Russian navigator and naval officer. In 1829 he joined the Naval Cadet Corps and in 1846 was given the rank of ...

discovered the strait between the continent and Sakhalin and mapped the northern part of the Strait of Tartary. Russian expeditions were made in 1853–1854 and 1886–1889 to measure the surface temperatures and record the tides. They also documented the cyclonal character of the sea currents. Other notable expeditions of the 19th century include the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition The North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, also known as the Rodgers-Ringgold Expedition was a United States scientific and exploring project from 1853 to 1856. Commander Cadwalader Ringgold (1802–1867) led the expedition until ...

(1853–1856) and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Challenger expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by W ...

(1872–1876). The aquatic life was described by V. K. Brazhnikov in 1899–1902 and P. Yu. Schmidt in 1903–1904. The Japanese scientific studies of the sea began only in 1915 and became systematic since the 1920s.

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

whaleships cruised for whales in the sea between 1847 and 1892. Most entered the sea via

Korea Strait The Korea Strait is a strait, sea passage in East Asia between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It connects the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by Tsushima Island into two par ...

and left via

La Pérouse Strait La Pérouse Strait (), or , is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east. ...

, but some entered and exited via

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

. They primarily targeted

right whales Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are class ...

, but began catching humpbacks as right whale catches declined. They also made attempts to catch

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

and

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, wi ...

s, but these species invariably sank after being killed. Right whales were caught from March to September, with peak catches in May and June. During the peak years of 1848 and 1849 a total of over 170 vessels (over 60 in 1848, and over 110 in 1849) cruised in the Sea of Japan, with significantly lesser numbers in following years.

Geography and geology

The Sea of Japan was landlocked when the

land bridge In biogeography, a land bridge is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonize new lands. A land bridge can be created by marine regression, in which sea le ...

existed. The Japan Arc started to form in the

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

. In the Early Miocene the Japan Sea started to open, and the northern and southern parts of the

separated from each other. During the Miocene, the Sea of Japan expanded. The north part of the Japanese archipelago was further fragmented later until

orogenesis Orogeny () is a mountain-building process that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An or develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges. This involv ...

of the north-eastern Japanese archipelago began in the later

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

. The south part of the Japanese archipelago remained as a relatively large landmass. The land area had expanded northward in the Late Miocene. The orogenesis of high mountain ranges in north-eastern Japan started in Late Miocene and lasted in

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58 The eastern margin of the sea may host an incipient

subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at the convergent boundaries between tectonic plates. Where one tectonic plate converges with a second p ...

zone responsible for large earthquakes in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. Nowadays the Sea of Japan is bounded by the Russian mainland and

island to the north, the

to the west, and the Japanese islands of

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

and

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

to the east and south. It is connected to other seas by five

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

s: the

Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (; ; ; ) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia (South-East Russia), connecting the Sea of Okhotsk ( Nevelskoy Strait) on the north with the Sea of Japan ...

between the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n mainland and Sakhalin;

between Sakhalin and Hokkaidō; the

between Hokkaidō and Honshū; the

Kanmon Straits The or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki (, which contributed "Kan" () to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu ...

between Honshū and Kyūshū; and the

between the

and Kyūshū. The

is composed of the Western Channel and the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...

, on either side of Tsushima Island. The straits were formed in recent geologic periods. The oldest of them are the Tsugaru and Tsushima straits. Their formation had interrupted the migration of elephants into the Japanese islands at the end of the

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

Period (about 2.6 million years ago). The most recent is La Perouse Strait, which formed about 60,000 to 11,000 years ago closing the path used by mammoths which had earlier moved to northern Hokkaidō. All the straits are rather shallow, with a minimal depth of the order of 100 meters or less. This hinders water exchange, thereby isolating the water and aquatic life of the Sea of Japan from the neighboring seas and oceans. The sea has a surface area of about , a mean depth of and a maximum depth of . It has a carrot-like shape, with the major axis extending from south-west to north-east and a wide southern part narrowing toward the north. The coastal length is about with the largest part () belonging to Russia. The sea extends from north to south for more than and has a maximum width of about .Sea of Japan

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

(in Russian) It has three major

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

: the ''Yamato Basin'' in the south-east, the ''Japan Basin'' in the north and the '' Tsushima Basin (Ulleung Basin)'' in the south-west.Sea of Japan
Encyclopædia Britannica on-line The Japan Basin is of oceanic origin and is the deepest part of the sea, whereas the Tsushima Basin is the shallowest with the depths below . On the eastern shores, the

continental shelves A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about . There are three distinct continental shelves in the northern part (above 44° N). They form a staircase-like structure with the steps slightly inclined southwards and submerged to the depths of , and . The last step sharply drops to the depths of about toward the central (deepest) part of the sea. The bottom of this part is relatively flat, but has a few plateaus. In addition, an underwater ridge rising up to runs from north to south through the middle of the central part. The Japanese coastal area of the sea consists of Okujiri Ridge, Sado Ridge, Hakusan Banks, Wakasa Ridge and Oki Ridge. Yamato Ridge is of continental origin and is composed of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. It has an uneven bottom covered with boulders of volcanic rock. Most other areas of the sea are of oceanic origin. Seabed down to is of continental nature and is covered with a mixture of mud, sand, gravel and fragments of rock. The depths between are covered in hemipelagic sediments (i.e., of semi-oceanic origin); these sediments are composed of blue mud rich in organic matter. Pelagic sediments of red mud dominate the deeper regions. There are no large islands in the sea. Most of the smaller ones are near the eastern coast, except for

Ulleungdo Ulleungdo (), also spelled Ulreungdo, is a South Korean island east of the Korean Peninsula in the Sea of Japan. It was formerly known as Dagelet Island or Argonaut Island in Europe. Volcanic in origin, the rocky steep-sided island is the top o ...

(South Korea). The most significant islands are

Moneron Moneron Island, (, , , Ainu: ) is a small island off Sakhalin Island. It is a part of the Russian Federation. Description Moneron has an area of about and a highest point of . It is approximately long (N/S axis) by wide, and is located ...

, Rebun, Rishiri, Okushiri, Ōshima, Sado,

Okinoshima Okinoshima may refer to: *Oki Islands, a group of Japanese islands historically called Okinoshima * Okinoshima, Shimane is a List of towns in Japan, town located on Dōgojima, Dōgo, in Oki District, Shimane, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, J ...

, Askold, Russky and Putyatin. The shorelines are relatively straight and lack large bays and capes; the coastal shapes are simplest in Sakhalin and are more winding in the Japanese islands. The largest bays are

Peter the Great Gulf The Peter the Great Gulf (Russian: Залив Петра Великого) is a gulf on the southern coast of Primorsky Krai, Russia, and the largest gulf of the Sea of Japan. The gulf extends for from the Russian–North Korean border, at the ...

Sovetskaya Gavan Sovetskaya Gavan () is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, and a port on the Strait of Tartary which connects the Sea of Okhotsk in the north with the Sea of Japan in the south. Population: It was previously known as Imperatorskaya Gavan (Им ...

; Vladimira Bay,

Olga Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia ...

; Posyet Bay in Russia; East Korea Bay in North Korea; and

Ishikari is a city located in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 57,764, with 27,434 households, and a density of 80 persons per km². The total area is . On October 1, 2005, the villa ...

(Hokkaidō),

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama (city), the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, Toyama * Toyama Sta ...

(Honshū), and Wakasa (Honshū) Bays in Japan. Prominent capes include Lazareva, Peschanyi (sandy), Povorotny, Gromova, Pogibi, Tyk, and Korsakova in Russia; Crillon on

; Sōya, Nosappu,

Tappi TAPPI is a registered not-for-profit, international Non-Governmental Organization of about 14,000 member engineers, scientists, managers, academics and others involved in the areas of pulp, and paper. In addition to pulp and paper, the TAPPI memb ...

, Nyuda, Rebun, Rishiri, Okushiri, Daso and Oki in Japan;A. D. Dobrovolskyi and B. S. Zalogi
Seas of USSR. Sea of Japan
Moscow University (1982) (in Russian) and

Musu Dan Musu Point or Musu Dan (; "Cape of the Dancing Water(s)") is a North Korean headland in the middle of the country's eastern coast along the Sea of Japan. It forms the eastern side of North Hamgyong's Hwadae County and the northern point of East ...

in North Korea. As world sea level dropped during the ice cap advances of the last Ice Age, the exit straits of the Sea of Japan one by one dried and closed. There is controversy as to whether or not in each ice cap advance the world sea level fell low enough for the deepest, the western channel of the

, to dry and close, turning the Sea of Japan into a huge cold inland lake with a surface layer of fresh water, freezing over in the winters. File:Full-orbed sunrise over East Sea in South Korea.JPG, Sunrise over the Sea of Japan filmed in South Korea File:Январское побережье Японского моря в Хасанском районе.jpg, The Sea of Japan seen from the south of Slavyanka. From a distance, the two islands of Antipenko (left) and

Sibiryakov Sibiryakov is a Russian (') or Ukrainian (') surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Sibiryakov (1849-1933), Russian gold mine and factories owner and explorer of Siberia * Andrei Sibiryakov (1964-1989/1990), Russian seria ...

(right). File:Бухта Сибирякова.jpg, A bay at

Sibiryakov Island Sibiryakov Island or Sibiryakow Island (, ''Ostrov Sibiryakova''), also known as Kuz'kin Island (Кузькин остров), is an island in the Kara Sea, off the northern end of the estuary of the Yenisei river. It belongs to the Krasnoyarsk ...

, south from Vladivostok File:Закат на Воеводского.jpg, Sunset on near Vladivostok

Climate

The sea climate has warm waters and monsoons. This combination results in strong evaporation, which is especially noticeable between October and March when the strong ( or higher) north-western monsoon wind brings cold and dry continental air. The evaporation is blown further south, causing snowfall in the mountainous western coasts of Japan. This winter monsoon brings typhoons and storms, with the waves reaching which erode the western coasts of Japan.

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

waves have also been recorded in the sea. In addition, the monsoon enhances the surface water convection, down to the depths of . The coldest months are January and February, with an average air temperature of in the north and in the south. The northern one-quarter of the sea, particularly the Siberian coast and the Strait of Tartary, freezes for about 4−5 months. The timing and extent of freezing vary from year to year, so ice may start forming in the bays as early as October and its remains may be seen even in June. Ice cover is continuous only in the bays and forms floating patches in the open sea. Ice melting in spring results in cold currents in the northern areas. In summer the wind weakens to and reverses its direction, blowing warm and humid air from the North Pacific onto the Asian mainland. The warmest month is August, with an average air temperature of in the north and in the south. Annual precipitation increases from in the north-west to in the south-east. A peculiar turbulent cloud pattern, named

von Kármán vortices The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' I ...

, is sometimes observed over the Sea of Japan. It requires a stable field of low clouds driven by the wind over a small (isolated) and tall obstacle, and usually forms over small mountainous islands. The Sea of Japan meets these conditions as it has frequent winds and cloudy skies, as well as compact, tall islands such as Rishiri (),

() and Ōshima ().

Extent

The

defines the limits of the "Japan Sea" as follows:

Hydrology

The sea currents circulate in the counterclockwise direction. The Kuroshio (Japan Current), the Tsushima Current and the East Korea Warm Current bring warmer and more saline water to the north. There they merge into the Tsugaru Current and flow into the Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait. They also feed the Sōya Current and exit through the La Perouse Strait to the Sea of Okhotsk. The returning branch is composed of the Liman, North Korea and Central (or Mid-) Japan Sea currents which bring fresh and cold water along the Asian coast to the south. Water temperature is mostly affected by exchange with the atmosphere in the northern part of the sea and by the currents in the southern part. Winter temperatures are or below in the north and in the south. In this season, there is a significant temperature difference between the western and eastern parts owing to the circular currents. So at the latitude of Peter the Great Gulf, the water temperature is about in the west and in the east. This east-west difference drops to in summer, and the temperatures rise to in the north and in the south. Because the sea is enclosed, its waters form clearly separated layers which may show seasonal and spatial dependence. In winter, the temperature is almost constant with the depth in the northern part of the sea. However, in central-southern parts, it may be down to , at , at and then remain at about until the bottom. Heating by the sun and tropical monsoons increases the depth gradient in spring–summer. In the north the surface layer (down to ) may heat up to . The temperature would drop sharply to at , then slowly decrease to at and remain so down to the seabed. On the contrary, the temperature in the south could gradually decrease to at , then to at and to at , but then it would rise to about near the bottom. This cold layer at about is formed by sinking of cold water in the northern part of the sea in winter and is brought south by the sea currents; it is rather stable and is observed all through the year. The hydrological isolation of the Sea of Japan also results in slightly lower average water salinity (34.09‰, where ‰ means parts per thousand) compared with the Pacific Ocean. In winter, the highest salinity at 34.5‰ is observed in the south where evaporation dominates over precipitation. It is the lowest at 33.8‰ in the south-east and south-west because of frequent rains, and remains at about 34.09‰ in most other parts. Thawing of ice in spring reduces water salinity in the north, but it remains high at 34.60–34.70‰ in the south, partly because of the inflow of salty water through the

. A typical variation of salinity across the sea in summer is 31.5‰ to 34.5‰ from north to south. The depth distribution of salinity is relatively constant. The surface layer tends to be more fresh in the sea parts which experience ice melting and rains. The average water density is 1.0270 g/cm³ in the north and 1.0255 g/cm³ in the south in winter. It lowers in summer to 1.0253 and 1.0215 g/cm³, respectively. Few rivers flow into the Sea of Japan from mainland

, the largest being Tumen, Rudnaya, Samarga, Partizanskaya and Tumnin; all of them have a mountainous character. In contrast, numerous large rivers flow from Honshū and Hokkaidō into the sea, including Japan's four largest rivers: the Shinano,

, Agano and Mogami. The total annual river discharge into the sea is and is relatively constant through the year, except for a minor increase in July. Most water (97% or ) flows into the sea through the Korea Strait and discharges through the Tsugaru (64% or , La Pérouse ) and Korea straits. Rainfall, evaporation and riverine inflow make only 1% of the water balance. Between October and April, the outflow exceeds the inflow due to the lower income through the Korea Strait; this balance reverses between May and September. The sea has complex

s, which are induced by the tidal wave of the Pacific Ocean penetrating through the

and Tsugaru strait. The tides are semi-diurnal (rise twice a day) in the Korea Strait and in the northern part of the Strait of Tartary. They are diurnal at the eastern shore of Korea,

and the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō. Mixed tides occur in

and Korea strait. The tidal waves have a speed of in the open sea. They accelerate in the Korea Strait (), La Pérouse Strait () and especially in the Tsugaru Strait (). The amplitude of the tides is relatively low and varies strongly across the sea. It reaches 3 meters in the south near the

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Strait, but quickly drops northwards to at the southern tip of Korean Peninsula and to at the North Korean shores. Similar low tides are observed in Hokkaidō, Honshū and south Sakhalin. The amplitude however increases to toward the north of the Strait of Tartary due to its funnel-like shape. Apart from tides, the water level also displays seasonal, monsoon-related variations across the entire sea with the highest levels observed in summer and lowest in winter. Wind may also locally change the water level by ; for example, it is higher in summer at the Korean and lower at the Japanese coasts. The sea waters have blue to green-blue color and a transparency of about . They are rich in

, especially in the western and northern parts, which are colder and have more

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

than the eastern and southern areas. The oxygen concentration is 95% of the saturation point near the surface; it decreases with the depth to about 70% at .

Flora and fauna

The high concentration of dissolved

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

results in the rich aquatic life of the Sea of Japan – there are more than 800 species of aquatic plants and more than 3,500 animal species, including more than 900 species of crustaceans, about 1,000 of fish and 26 of mammals. The coastal areas contain several kg/m² of biomass.

Pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

(oceanic) fishes include

saury The saury (''Cololabis adocetus'') is a species of fish that is a member of the family Scomberesocidae, or the saury family. It is widespread in the Eastern Pacific in the surface waters, typically remaining in the top 50 centimeters of the water ...

, mackerel,

Jack mackerels Jack mackerels or saurels are marine ray-finned fish in the genus ''Trachurus'' of the family Carangidae. The name of the genus derives from the Greek (language), Greek words ''trachys'' ("rough") and ''oura'' ("tail"). Some species, such as ''T ...

, sardines, anchovies, herring,

sea bream Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in te ...

, squid and various species of salmon and trout. The

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

(sea-bottom) fishes include

cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...

pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic ocean, marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the Unit ...

and

Atka mackerel The Atka mackerel (''Pleurogrammus monopterygius'') is a mackerel in the family Hexagrammidae. Atka mackerel are common in the northern Pacific Ocean, and are one of only two members of the genus ''Pleurogrammus'' – the other being the Arabes ...

. Mammals are represented by seals and whales (ancient name for the basin in Chinese was "Sea of Whales"), and the crustaceans by shrimps and crabs. Because of the shallow straits connecting the sea with Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan has no characteristic oceanic deep-water fauna. Flora and fauna unique to the region near the Sea of Japan are known as "Japan Sea elements".Kameda Y. & Kato M. (2011). "Terrestrial invasion of pomatiopsid gastropods in the heavy-snow region of the Japanese Archipelago". ''

BMC Evolutionary Biology ''BMC Ecology and Evolution'' (since January 2021), previously ''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' (2001–2020), is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all fields of evolutionary biology, including phylogenetics and palaeontology ...

'' 11: 118. .

Economy

Fishery had long been the main economic activity on the Sea of Japan. It is mainly carried out on and near the continental shelves and focuses on herring, sardines and bluefin tuna. These species are however depleted from after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Squid is mostly caught near the sea center and salmon near the northern and south-western shores. There is also a well-developed seaweed production. The importance of the fishery in the sea is illustrated by the

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession (law), possession or control of territories (land, maritime territory, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial ...

s between Japan and South Korea over

Liancourt Rocks The Liancourt Rocks, known in Korea as Dokdo () and in Japan as Takeshima (), are a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago administered by South Korea. The Liancourt Rocks comprise two ...

and between Japan and Russia over the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

. It is also reflected in various legends, such as the legend of the Heishi rock, which says that once when herring vanished, an old fairy threw a bottle with magic water into the sea, and the herring returned. The bottle got stuck to the seabed and turned into a rock, which became a representation of the God of the Sea of Japan.かもめ島
Esashi Town Guide (in Japanese)

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

is a base for the Russian whaling fleet. Although it operates in the northern seas, its production is processed and partly distributed in the Vladivostok area. Vladivostok is also a terminal point of the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

which brings many goods to and from this major port. There is a regular ferry service across the Strait of Tartary between the Russian continental port of Vanino and

Kholmsk Kholmsk (), known until 1946 as Maoka (), is a port town and the administrative center of Kholmsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, on coast of the gulf of Nevelsky in the Strait o ...

in Sakhalin. The sea has

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

sands as well as

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

fields near the northern part of Japan and Sakhalin Island. The intensity of shipments across the sea is moderate, owing to the cold relations between many bordering countries. As a result, the largest Japanese ports are on the Pacific coast, and the significant ports on the Sea of Japan are Niigata, Tsuruta and

Maizuru is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34,817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Prefectu ...

. Major South Korean ports are

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

, and

Pohang Pohang (; ), formerly spelled Po-Hang, is the largest city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, with a List of cities in South Korea, population of 499,363 as of 2022, bordering the Sea of Japan, East Sea to the east, Yeongcheon to the w ...

situated on the south-eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, but they also mainly target countries not bordering the Sea of Japan. The major

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n port of Vladivostok mainly serves inland cargos, whereas

Nakhodka Nakhodka ( rus, Нахо́дка, p=nɐˈxotkə, means "''finding''") is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok (169 kilometers by ...

and Vostochny are more international and have a busy exchange with Japan and

. Other prominent Russian ports are

, Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky and

, and the major ports of North Korea are

Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

Hamhung Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's List of cities in North Korea, second-most populous city, the capital of South Hamgyong, South Hamgyŏng Province and the 16th largest city in the Korea, Korean Peninsula. Located in the southern part ...

and

Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's List of cities in North Korea, third-largest city. Sometimes called the City of Iron, it is located in the northeast of the country. History ...

. The intensity of shipments across the Sea of Japan is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies.

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from this reference:

External links

* *
"The Issue of Name 'Sea of Japan
MOFA, Japan, 7 February 2017.　 ** MOFA, Japan (10 August 2021)
"Sea of Japan – The one and only name recognized by the international community" (Digest version)
''YouTube''. {{coord, 40, N, 135, E, type:waterbody_scale:10000000, display=title Bodies of water of Khabarovsk Krai Bodies of water of Primorsky Krai Bodies of water of Sakhalin Oblast Geography of Japan Geography of Korea Geography of Northeast Asia Geography of the Russian Far East Marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean Marine ecoregions Miocene Asia Pacific Coast of Russia

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Temperate Northern Pacific

Names

Naming dispute

History

Geography and geology

Climate

Extent

Hydrology

Flora and fauna

Economy

See also

References

Further reading

External links