How’s this for inane micro-management of the education system? Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Burke, submitted a bill requiring all textbooks approved by the Board of Education, when referring to the Sea of Japan, to note that the body of water is also referred to as the East Sea.
Only Marsden knows what prompted this exercise in geographical correctness, but it clearly messes where the General Assembly shouldn’t be a messin’. It seems that the Koreans are irate that the body of water lying between Japan, Korea and Russia (see map) should be referred to as the Sea of Japan. They propose the neutral-sounding “East Sea.” Of course, the sea is “east” of Korea, but “west” of Japan, thus implicitly endorsing its connection to Korea. If I were Korean, I’d probably get torgued up, too. But it appears that the Japanese are equally keen upon retaining the name. (Two posts by Japanese citizens upon the Richmond Sunlight website make good reading, if you are interested in geographic and historical arcana.) Thankfully, the Russians have kept their noses out of it so far.
It has been common usage among Western countries to call the body of water the Sea of Japan since at least the early 1800s, and so the name appears in the textbooks read by Virginia students.
The last time I checked, the federal government is responsible for the conduct of diplomacy and foreign affairs, not the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Very few of the things that the federal government does are legitimate, to my mind, but this is one of them that is.) We have no dog in this fight. But both the Koreans and the Japanese are vital partners to Virginia’s economic prosperity. All we can do by taking sides is to tick someone off. Let the textbook publishers take the heat.
Thankfully, the state Senate did the right thing… though just barely. The Education and Health Committee defeated the bill in a 7 to 8 vote. I can’t begin to imagine what the seven “yea” voters were thinking.
— JAB
