Senate Bill S4050

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4050

SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring certain
text-books to reference the Sea of Japan as also the East Sea

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require that the Sea of Japan also be referenced as the East Sea in
textbooks used in New York.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the education law by adding a section 706
which will require that any textbook approved and issued pursuant to
section seven hundred one of this article which refers to the Sea of
Japan shall also refer to such sea as the East Sea.

Section 2 of the bill sets an effective date of the July 1, 2021 and the
              

provisions shall apply to books approved and issued after that date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill will facilitate an understanding that the body of water that
separates the Korean Peninsula and Japan should also be known as the
"East Sea". While the name "Sea of Japan" was introduced sometime during
the late 1920's during a time when Japan occupied Korea, both Korea and
China have referred to this same body of water as the "East Sea" for
well over 2000 years. In addition, there are dozens of world maps
predating the 19th century that refer to this body of water as the "East
Sea."

Moreover, two separate international resolutions have established the
standards of naming a sea area that is shared by multiple countries.
The International Hydrographic Organization Technical Resolution A.4.2.6
(adopted on March 13, 1974) provided that when countries sharing a given
geographical feature do not agree on a common name, the names used by
each of the countries should be used concurrently.  This standard is
confirmed by the United Nations Resolution on Geographical Names
111/20(adopted in 1977), which further stated that accepting only one or
some of such names while excluding the rest would be inconsistent in
principle as well as inexpedient in practice. Furthermore, the interna-
tionally established custom indicates that seas bordering different
countries should not be named after one particular nation. Therefore, a
dual reference to the "Sea of Japan" and the "East Sea" would be in full
compliance with this international principle.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S 1284/A 1356 - Referred to Education.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2021 and shall apply to text-books
approved and issued on or after such date.