Geographical Boundaries of the Ryukyu Islands: An Analysis

Recently some documents on the“Senkaku Islands”posted on the  Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’official website were used to “prove”that“China views the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands) as part of Okinawa.”One of the documents was an article published in the People’s Daily back on January 8, 1953. The article’s was headlined Okinawans Fight Against American Occupation.2 For the moment, let’s delay discussion of this, but Japan’s interpretation of this article has been taken out of context and is deceitful; let alone the preposterousness of citing an article in a newspaper as proof of a country’s view on territorial sovereignty.

Just as its name suggests, the name Ryukyu Islands comes from thevancient Ryukyu kingdom. Originally the Ryukyu Islands included the Amami Islands, Okinawa and Miyako running from north to south. In 1609, the Japanese Satsuma Clan, conquered Ryukyu by force and captured the king of Ryukyu. Not only did that change the status of Ryukyu, which had been paying tribute to China and accepting Chinese conferment of nobility titles for a long period of time into a“vassal state of two countries”but it also brought the Amami Islands under the control of the Satsuma Clan. Since that time, the Ryukyu Islands have also been called the Okinawa Islands and Miyako Islands. After the Meiji Renovation, Japan occupied Ryukyu by force. At first, it set up the Ryukyu Clan and then changed it into Okinawa County. The Diaoyu Islands have never been part of Ryukyu, whether we are looking at ancient history or present times. This is an indisputable fact, and has even been accepted by Japan. In 1785, a Japanese map even showed the Diaoyu Islands and the Chinese mainland in the same color. This is irrefutable proof that the Diaoyu Islands were part of Chinese territory.

Many Japanese historical documents clearly state that the so-called “Senkaku Islands”(Diaoyu Islands) were not part of the Ryukyu Islands. In one map, the islands of Ryukyu were divided into three sections: the northern islands, the central islands and the southern islands. The boundary was marked by Yonaguni Island in the southwest of Ryukyu. The southern islands included Miyako island sand and the Yaeyama Islands. Another Japanese map also indicated that the Diaoyu Islands were not part of Ryukyu.2 There are many such Japanese maps of Ryukyu from that time.

Many Japanese contemporary publications, however, have conflicting representations of the geographical boundaries of Ryukyu. According to some publications, the“Senkaku Islands”are not included. The“Ryukyu Islands”are defined as a“general name for the Okinawa and the Miyako Islands.”“Okinawa Islands”refers to the islands between“Amami and the Miyako Islands”. The“Miyako Islands”refers to the“general name of the Miyako and the Yaeyama Islands in the southwest of Okinawa County.”

However, in other documents the“Senkaku Islands”are sometimes included. Here the“Okinawa Islands”are defined as the“main island of Okinawa as well as those islands surrounding it and the islands to the west.”They define the“Miyako Islands”as the“general name of the islands to the southwest of Okinawa County and the Yaeyama Islands.” “Sometimes the Senkuka Islands are also included.”

And in others the definitions of Okinawa, Miyako, Amami and Yaeyama Islands are even more conflicting. It is not really clear at all if the “Senkaku Islands”are included or not.

All these different definitions are laid out in a Japanese Wikipedia page. On the“Ryukyu Islands”page it reads: the“Ryukyu Islands are the general name for the islands in the southwest, which belong to Okinawa County”;“There are various statements questioning whether [the Ryuku Islands] belong to Okinawa County or not”;“There are statements that both assert and deny that Senkaku Islands are under the Miyako or the Okinawa Islands.” And lastly: “From geographical and historical perspectives, the Ryukyu Islands are defined as the group of arc-shaped islands stretching from Kyushu to Taiwan.”In other words, the islands from the Osumi Islands to the Yaeyama Islands, in which case Daito and the“Senkaku Islands”are not included.

The People’s Daily article is also referred to on that Japanese Wikipedia page. According to the entry on the“Issue of the Senkaku Islands” it says: “In an article headlined Okinawans Fight Against American Occupation published in the People’s Daily, the Ryukyu Islands was used to refer to the areas occupied by U.S. troops.”3 In this case, the “Ryukyu Islands”referred to in the article was not used as a geographical concept but rather as a political one used to refer to the areas occupied by U.S. troops at the time.

This is backed up by a series of U.S. official documents. For example, a memorandum issued by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) on January 29, 1946 said: “The islands, including Ryukyu (southwest) in the south at 30 degrees north latitude, the Izu, Ogasawara and Iwo islands as well as all other Pacific islands such as Daito, Okinotori and Marcus islands, are not part of Japan.”4 On December 5, 1951, the U.S. came out with some slight amendments and claimed: The “Ryukyu (Southwest) islands at 29 degrees north latitude are part of Japan. The “Treaty of Peace with Japan”(Article 3) referred to the Ryukyu and Daito Islands as the Southwest islands at 29 degrees north latitude. This was in conflict with all published books at the time. It is clear that the U.S.-led occupying forces did not have a clear grasp of the geographical situation, and simply called the islands they controlled, the Ryukyu Islands, southwest of Japan and away from the Japanese mainland.

So the People’s Daily article used the term Ryukyu Islands simply to mean“the areas occupied by the U.S.”and not to refer to the geographical boundaries of the Ryukyu Islands. Because the Diaoyu Islands were occupied by U.S. troops then, it was also included. The article was a criticism of the U.S. for turning these occupied areas into military bases.

Because of its ulterior motives, Japan has used isolated quotes to “prove”its sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands without taking the whole article into context.