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(CNN) – At a bad day, you risk losing your wallet or keys, but it is much harder to lose an entire island.
However, the Japanese coastguard is currently planning a search mission after the disappearance of an uninhabited island called Esanbehanakitakojima, off the country's north coast.
His absence was noticed by the author Hiroshi Shimizu, who produced a picture book on hidden islands and went to the area in search of inspiration.
Intrigued, Shimizu asked local fishermen what had happened. According to Asahi Shimbun, an elderly person from the area confirmed the existence of an island in the vicinity, but this island can no longer be seen from the land or from nearby boats.
A Japanese Coast Guard vessel patrols the Northern Territories east of the "disappeared" islet.
Issei Kato / REUTERS
However, other fishermen said that Esanbehanakitakojima stood as an island on the navigation systems.
The authorities are worried about his fate because the islet is used to mark the Japanese territorial waters in the Northern Territories, an area also claimed by Russia. Known to the Russians as the Kuriles, the islands were invaded by Soviet forces shortly after the end of the Second World War.
In 2014, the Japanese government officially designated 158 uninhabited islands to delineate its waters.
Under the waves?
Under international law, countries can only claim waters around islands visible at high tide above the sea surface.
A 1987 study showed that Esanbehanakitakojima exceeded 1.4 meters above sea level, and a 1988 marine map of Japan's Geospatial Information Authority published the report. described as an island.
"It is possible that the island was eroded by the wind and snow and, as a result, disappeared," said a senior Coast Guard official to Asahi Shimbun.
If Esanbehanakitakojima sank under the waves, Japan will lose 500 meters of territorial waters.
Japan also has a long-standing territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.
