matched their national interests at the time.

But later, exploiting the absence of a Japanese EEZ, neighboring countries such as South and North Korea, China and Soviet Union entered the offshore fishing industry and began operating off the coast of Shimane and Tottori Prefectures, making the situation disadvantageous to Japan. Therefore, in 1982, Japan supported the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) when it was created at the Third United