The National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty (Japanese: 領土・主権展示館) is located in the Toranomon Mitsui Building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, and covers Takeshima,

Senkaku Islands The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...

, and the Northern Territories. It is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

about Japanese territorial rights issues.

Overview

The museum exhibits are designed to educate the public concerning Japanese

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

and sovereignties, Takeshima in Oki-no-shima, Oki District,

Shimane Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...

in Ishigaki-shi,

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

, and public awareness on sovereignty issues in the Northern Territories of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, as part of a communication to the international community was opened on January 25, 2018 by the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

's Cabinet Secretariat and the Territorial and Sovereignty Planning and Coordination Office to display explanatory materials. In May 2019, the move to the first floor of the Toranomon Mitsui Building was announced.「領土・主権展示館」の虎ノ門地区移転を発表
産経新聞 The relocated exhibit was opened to the press on January 20, 2020, and opened to the public on the 21st. The exhibition area is about seven times larger than before, and the number of exhibits on the northern territory, which was previously small, has increased significantly. Prior to the relocation, the museum was closed on Saturdays and Sundays, but now it remains open on the weekends and is closed on Mondays.

Exhibits

In addition to exhibiting panels and evidence (replicas) explaining Takeshima and the Senkaku Islands as grounds for Japan's territory, both historically and internationally, and rebuttal to the allegations of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and that they are in a position to solve problems through dialogue. Since there were already permanent exhibition facilities in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

and

Shibetsu is a city located in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 19,794 and the density of 18 persons per km2. The total area is 1119.29 km2. On September 1, 2005, the town of ...

, there was very little content on northern territorial issues during the municipal assembly hall era, but since the relocation to the Toranomon Mitsui Building, exhibits on the northern territories have significantly increased. In addition to the exhibits, related videos can be shown and materials can be viewed on a personal computer. They also distribute

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

related pamphlets on Takeshima and Senkaku issues.

Visiting

*Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-18:00 *Closed: Mondays, New Year's holidays (December 29-January 3) *Admission fee: Free *Parking: None *Photography: allowed

Accessibility

*5 minute walk from

Kasumigaseki Station (Tokyo) is a subway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. The station is located in the Kasumigaseki government district. Lines Kasumigaseki Station is served by the following three Tokyo Metro lines. * ...

(A13 exit) on the

Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The offi ...

Hibiya Line Chiyoda Line *1 minute walk from

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia. The line was named af ...

-Toranomon Station (Exit 3)

Nearby

*Toranomon Hospital *

Japan Patent Office The is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of industrial property right affairs, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Japan Patent Office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo and is one of the world's largest pa ...

References

{{authority control History museums in Japan National museums of Japan Museums established in 2018 2018 establishments in Japan Buildings and structures in Chiyoda, Tokyo Museums in Tokyo