Japan to Register 280 Islands as State Property, Minister Says

Japan will register about 280 owner-less islands within its territorial waters as state property and strengthen management over them, the Minister for Ocean Policy and Territorial Issues said today.

The islands are among about 500 that define the borders of Japan’s territorial waters according to a survey being conducted by the government, Ichita Yamamoto said at a press conference screened on the Internet. Ninety-nine of them have already been registered as state property because they define Japan’s broader exclusive economic zone, a larger area over which a country has special rights to explore and use marine resources.