The international name for the body of water which is bordered by
Japan,
North Korea,
Russia, and
South Korea is disputed. In 1992, objections to the name
Sea of Japan were first raised by North Korea and South Korea at the Sixth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. The Japanese government supports the use of the name "Sea of Japan", while South Korea supports the name "East Sea", and North Korea supports the name "East Sea of Korea". Currently, most international maps and documents use either the name Sea of Japan (or equivalent translation) by itself, or include both the name Sea of Japan and East Sea, often with East Sea listed in parentheses or otherwise marked as a secondary name. The
International Hydrographic Organization, the international governing body for the naming of bodies of water around the world, in 2012 decided not to change the current single name "Sea of Japan" rejecting South Korea's request to use "East Sea" together with "Sea of Japan".