1946 - SCAPIN 677 (History of SF Peace Treaty #1)

History of San Francisco Peace Treaty: Part One

1946 - SCAPIN 677

According to the staff memorandum #4 dated January 24^th 1946, all the orders by Supreme Command of Allied Powers (SCAP) to Japanese government were called as “SCAPIN” (SCAP Index Number or SCAP Instruction Note) or “連合軍最高司令部訓令” in Japanese.

SCAPIN 677 was issued on January 29^th 1946, which was titled as “Governmental and Administrative Separation of Certain Outlying Areas from Japan” and signed by H.W. Allen, Colonel, AGD, Asst Adjutant General.

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The third item from the SCAPIN is as follows;

“3. For the purpose of this directive, Japan is defined to include the four main islands of Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku) and approximately 1,000 smaller adjacent islands, including the Tsushima islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) islands north of 30° North Latitude (excluding Kuchinoshima island);

and excluding (a) Utsuryo (Ullung) island, Liancourt Rocks (Take island) and Quelpart (Saishu or Cheju) Island, (b) the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands south of 30° North Latitude (including Kuchinoshima island), the Izu, Nanpo, Bonin (Ogasawara) and Volcano (Nazan or Iwo) Island Groups, and all other outlying Pacific Islands [including the Daito (Ohigashi or Oagari) Island Group, and Valece Vela (Okino-tori), Marcus (Minami-tori) and Sangos (Nakano-tori) Islands], and (c) the Kurile (Chishima) Islands, the Habomai (Hapomaze) Island Group (including Suisho, Yuri, Aki-yuri, Shibotsu and Taraku Islands) and Shikotan island.”

(Japanese text):

3　この指令の目的から日本と言ふ場合は次の定義による。

日本の範囲に含まれる地域として

日本の四主要島嶼（北海道、本州、四国、九州）と、対馬諸島、北緯30度以北の琉球（南西）諸島（口之島を除く）を含む約1千の隣接小島嶼

日本の範囲から除かれる地域として

(a)欝陵島、竹島、済州島。(b)北緯30度以南の琉球（南西）列島（口之島を含む）、伊豆、南方、小笠原、硫黄群島、及び大東群島、沖ノ鳥島、南鳥島、中ノ鳥島を含むその他の外廓太平洋全諸島。(c)千島列島、歯舞群島（水晶、勇留、秋勇留、志発、多楽島を含む）、色丹島。

Pro-Korean scholars used to say that Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima) belonged to Korea based on this SCAPIN. As the matter of fact, many islands including Liancourt Rocks were separated from Japan at this point but it didn’t mean all of them are not Japanese islands. Actually, many of them including the Ryukyu islands, Izu Islands, Nanpo Islands, Bonin and Volcano Islands etc were later returned to Japan. So this “separation” didn’t mean the separation of sovereignty.

In addition, the 6th item from the SCAPIN reads;

"6. Nothing in this directive shall be construed as an indication
of Allied policy relating to the ultimate determination of the minor islands
referred to in Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration."

（6 この指令中の条項は何れも、ポツダム宣言の第8条にある小島嶼の最終的決定に関する連合国側の政策を示すものと解釈してはならない。）
(Thanks to cloud for suggestion)

Here is a confidential document dated back in November 1952 which was wriiten by Kenneth T. Young, Jr., Director of the Office of Northern Asian Affairs:

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.......................

TokyoOfficial - Informal

Confidential Security
Information

The action of the United States-Japan Joint Committee in
designating these rocks as a facility of the Japanese Government is therefore
justified. The Korean claim, based on SCAPIN677 f January 29, 1946, which suspended Japanese administration of various island areas,
including Takeshima (Liancourt Rocks), did not preclude Japan from
exercising sovereignty over this area permanently. A later SCAPIN, No.1778 of September 16, 1947 designated the islets as a bombing range for the
Far East Air Force and further provided that use of the range would be made only
after notification through Japanese civil authorities to the inhabitants of the Oki Islands and certain ports on Western Honsu.

Sincerely yours,

Kenneth T. Young, Jr.,

Director,

Office of Northeast Asian Affairs

It referred to the SCAPIN 677 and clearly says that Korean claim on the SCAPIN did not preclude Japan from exercising sovereignty over Liancourt Rocks. So Korea can’t claim Liancourt Rocks based on this SCAPIN.