The sea is connected to other seas by six shallow straits: the Strait of Tartary or Mamiya Strait between the Asian mainland and Sakhalin; La Perouse Strait or Soya Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaido; Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu; Kanmon Strait between the islands of Honshu and Kyushu; Tsushima Strait between the islands of Kyushu and Tsushima; and Korea Strait between Tsushima and the Korean peninsula.

The deepest point is 3712 meters below sea level. The sea has two major basins, Yamato Basin and Japan Basin. They are rich fishing grounds.

Name

The sea is called:

• Sea of Japan - Nihonkai or Nipponkai (日本海) in Japanese, Ri`běnhǎi (日本海) in Chinese, ЯпонскоеМоре in Russian;
• East Sea - Donghae (동해; 東海) in South Korean;
• East Sea of Korea - Chosŏn Tonghae (조선동해; 朝鮮東海) in North Korean;