Japan’s claim over ‘Senkaku Islands’ highlighted at Karachi seminar

KARACHI: Consulate General of Japan in Karachi and Pakistan Japan Intellect Forum (PJIF) on Saturday held a seminar on “The Senkaku Islands,  a group of islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea.

Territorial sovereignty over the islands and the maritime boundaries around them are disputed between  China and Japan.

Held at Japan Information and Culture Center on Saturday, the event was addressed by   Mr.Iqbal Burma, Dr. Khalil ur Rehman Sheikh and Dr. Hammadullah Kakepoto among others.

The speakers gave  comprehensive insight and presentation on the Senkaku Islands and said, “the Senkaku Islands are indisputably an inherent part of the territory of Japan in the light of historical facts and based upon the international laws”.

Mr. Toshikazu Isomura, the Consul General of Japan in Karachi,  said since 1885 the Senkaku Islands have consistently been part of the territory of Japan.

“During that period the investigations were conducted through the agencies of Okinawa Prefecture and it was confirmed that the Senkaku Islands was not only uninhabited but also showed no trace of having been under the control of the Qing Dynasty (now China)”.

He said, in 1986, a Japanese entrepreneur named Tatsushiro Koga obtained permission from the Japanese government to develop the islands, and many Japanese people moved there.

“After the end of World War II, Japan’s territory was legally defined by the San Francisco Treaty, which came into effect in 1952”, the Consul General said.

He told the audience that since 1972, when the administrative rights to Okinawa, including the Senkaku Islands were returned to Japan, the Japanese government conducted security patrols and enforcement in the sea around the Senkaku Island.

“Until the early 1970s, China consistently recognized the Senkaku Islands as part of Okinawa prefecture of Japan”, Mr. Toshikazu stated.

He said that Japan is and will be committed to maintaining its stance concerning the Senkaku Islands, respecting post-war international order in line with the San Francisco Peace Treaty and in accordance with the principle of “the rule of law” based on the U.N. charter.

He expressed  the hope that the seminar would held strengthen   intellectual relationships and deepen the mutual understandings between Japan and Pakistan.

The author tweets @faziljamili