Japan is involved in two territorial disputes involving islands: a chain in the East China Sea called Senkaku by the Japanese and Diaoyu by the Chinese, and two volcanic islands known as Dokdo to South Koreans and Takeshima to the Japanese.
Oct. 4, 2012 South Korean national police guard the Dokdo (Takeshima) islands in pairs, positioned at various lookout points. The islands, administered by South Korea but claimed by Japan, provide a window into Asia’s fastest-growing problem, the fight over small bits of land. that have symbolic importance. Chico Harlan/The Washington Post