月刊『海洋漁業』（1936–43年）解題

抄録

In the territorial disputes of the East and South China Seas, the scattered islands and reefs are said to be “historically unique territories” for countries claiming territorial rights. A solution to this has been sought by international law. Several scholarly books have already been published, and the Arbitration Tribunal decided on the South China Sea in 2016. However, it is not going to be solved. The reason is that international law has many ambiguities based on customary law and is not binding on judgment. On the other hand, it is not clear how the countries claiming territorial rights have customarily used the sea.

The purpose of this article is to consider how the East and South China Seas have been used as fishery resources through the monthly journal Kaiyo Gyogyo (Sea Fisheries) published in 1936–43.

Japan invested capital for the development of phosphorus ore from the latter half of the 1910s in the Spratly Islands, the South China Sea, which was further expected to be a prelude to the southward fishing industry. On March 30, 1939 it was incorporated into Kaohsiung City, Taiwan called “Shin-nan-gunto” as a territory of the Empire of Japan.