The International Hydrographic Organization has urged Japan to hold talks with Korea on its dispute over the name "East Sea," the body of water which lies between the two countries.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference Friday that Tokyo is contemplating the talks... following the IHO's push on Japan to engage in talks with Korea over the name dispute by 2020.
That is the year when the orgnization is set to hold a general meeting and update its guidelines on the international names of oceans and their boundaries.
The Monaco-based body's guideline is used as a model for other global maps.
The IHO used the term “Sea of Japan” when it published its first edition of “Limits of Oceans and Sea" in 1929 when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule.
The Korean government has argued that the waters should be called the “East Sea", insisting the name has a long history and that the term "Sea of Japan" is one Japan began using widely during its colonial rule of Korea.
