According to Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" on December 23, on the 22nd, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced at the meeting of the "Comprehensive Marine Policy Headquarters" that most of the "Ogasawara Sea Platform Waters" located east of Chichijima Island of the Ogasawara Islands will be designated as the Japanese continental shelf, with a total area of about 120,000 square kilometers. It is said that there are rare metals on the seabed in this area, and Japan will be able to exploit resources there.
Kishida said that coordination with the United States has progressed, and that "domestic procedures will be completed as soon as possible to include the relevant areas in Japan's extended continental shelf." Japan** will begin to revise the relevant regulations.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the seabed and subsurface of an exclusive economic zone not exceeding 200 nautical miles from the coast are continental shelves, which can extend up to 350 nautical miles if certain conditions are met. A country has priority over its continental shelf, for example, in the exploitation of resources.
In 2012, the United Nations Commission approved Japan's extension of its continental shelf, and it took about 10 years for Japan** to coordinate with the United States to make progress. However, negotiations on some areas of the Ogasawara Sea Terrace have not yet been reached, and Japan will continue to consult with the United States.