The government has stepped up its efforts to gather and disseminate archives that support its sovereignty over the Takeshima Islands in Shimane Prefecture and the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
Since fiscal 2014, it has commissioned outside experts for this purpose. They have gathered about 5,000 documents so far, among them 140 items that have been deemed to be highly valuable. These items are accessible online in the form of written reports with commentary.
Last month, 14 items were made available online: six items regarding Takeshima and eight about the Senkakus.
In a document where the United States is responding to inquiries from the Australian government during the process of drafting the San Francisco Peace Treaty after the World War II, it reads, "It is thought that ... Takeshima ... all long recognized as Japanese, would be retained by Japan."
In regard to the Senkaku Islands, in 1930 a research document was compiled by the Okinawa forestry management bureau (currently the Forest Agency's Okinawa District Forest Office) to sell four state-owned islands including Uotsurijima to the private sector. Photos and commentary are included.
The document was made to assess land prices. Part of the document is damaged, but the names and the sizes of the four islands can be confirmed.
The government report points out that this document helps "show an absolute recognition of the fact that those islands were effectively managed and governed as part of Okinawa Prefecture."
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