A new digital mapping standard adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is drawing attention for what it means for Japan’s long-standing push to call the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago solely as the Sea of Japan, as the standard replaces geographical names with numerical identifiers, effectively removing the label altogether. At the fourth session of the IHO Assembly held in Monaco from April 19-23, the S-130 digital dataset standard was finalized and formally adopted. The move follows a decision made at the second Assembly in 2020 to develop S-130 as an updated framework to replace the existing standard chart, Limits of Oceans and Seas, also known as S-23. S-130 introduces a digital charting system that replaces names with numerical identifiers for maritime areas, marking a shift from a name-based framework to a number-based structure. Designed for use in electronic navigation and geographic information systems, the standard assigns each sea area a unique code based on the latitude and longitude of its central point. The syst
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