This analysis evaluates the key factors involved in Japan's three territorial disputes with Russia, China and South Korea. First, the analysis provides a brief background for each dispute, examining their origins in Japan's pre-World War II Imperial expansion and the post-war settlement. Furthermore, the analysis assesses the relevance of the various factors, highlighting similarities and differences across the three disputes, before considering what these factors mean for the future of the disputes themselves as well as Japan's bilateral relations with its neighbours.

Paul O’Shea, Research Fellow, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University, Sweden

 

Read the ISPI Studies - Territorial disputes in Asia. Many players, many tensions, and no solutions