The political borders of Japan result from a process of alternating expansion and 4 Information géographique n°3 - 2011 Summary withdrawal operated by the Japanese State in reaction to internal and, especially, external pressures. The three currently running inter-State border disputes involving the islands are inherited from this geographical history. The resulting configuration is like the board of a game of Go. However, Japan remains prisoner of a rigid and largely outdated concept of a Nation State bordered by strict limits. The recent change of position by the USA appears to be opening up a new phase.