Naoki Amano

This paper aims at reconsidering the history of Karafuto (the southern part of Sakhalin Island under Japanese rule) from the viewpoint of border studies. I will review the history of Karafuto (1905-1945) as a border island of the Empire of Japan in comparison to another Japanese border island, Okinawa. This historical research allows us to develop some characteristics which define border islands. Firstly, border islands were always in an unstable situation: they could be incorporated into or excluded from the homeland, depending on the wishes of the central government. Secondly, border islands needed close co-operation with large corporations from the economic core of the homeland during the process of internalization and colonization. Thirdly, political internalization and economic colonization of border islands could be inconsistent. Paradoxically, it is because they were politically incorporated into the homeland that border islands could be de-bordered and economically excluded from the homeland market.