# Tsugaru Strait
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{{Short description|Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido, Japan}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Tsugaru Strait
| image = Tsugaru Strait (English).png
| caption = Tsugaru Strait. Honshu is south, Hokkaido north.
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| max-depth = {{cvt|200|m}}
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| islands =
| etymology = [Tsugaru clan](/source/Tsugaru_clan)
| location = Japan
| pushpin_map = Japan
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| coordinates = {{coord|41|29|57|N|140|36|57|E|region:JP_type:waterbody|display=inline}}
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200px|right|thumb|Ships on the Tsugaru Strait
thumb|Tappi Misaki Cape
The {{Nihongo|'''Tsugaru Strait'''|津軽海峡|Tsugaru Kaikyō}} is a [strait](/source/strait) between [Honshu](/source/Honshu) and [Hokkaido](/source/Hokkaido) in northern [Japan](/source/Japan) connecting the [Sea of Japan](/source/Sea_of_Japan) with the [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean). It was named after the western part of [Aomori Prefecture](/source/Aomori_Prefecture). The [Seikan Tunnel](/source/Seikan_Tunnel) passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles (19.5 km) between [Tappi Misaki](/source/Cape_Tappi) on the [Tsugaru Peninsula](/source/Tsugaru_Peninsula) in [Aomori Prefecture](/source/Aomori_Prefecture), Honshu, and Shirakami Misaki on the [Matsumae Peninsula](/source/Matsumae_Peninsula) in Hokkaido.
Western maps made prior to the 20th century also referred to this waterway as the '''Strait of Sangar'''.[{{Cite web|url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85138341.html|title=Tsugaru Strait (Japan) - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies {{!}} Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)|last=Congress|first=The Library of|website=id.loc.gov|access-date=2023-07-06}}]
Japan's territorial waters extend to three nautical miles (5.6 km) into the strait instead of the usual twelve, reportedly to allow [nuclear](/source/Nuclear_weapon)-armed [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) warships and submarines to transit the strait without violating Japan's prohibition against nuclear weapons in its territory.{{better source needed|date=March 2026}}[[Kyodo News](/source/Kyodo_News), "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/06/22/national/japan-left-key-straits-open-for-u-s-nukes/ Japan left key straits open for U.S. nukes]{{deadlink|date=March 2026}}", ''[The Japan Times](/source/The_Japan_Times)'', June 22, 2009.] Despite this, the part of the Tsugaru Strait considered to be in [international waters](/source/international_waters) is still within [Japan's exclusive economic zone](/source/Japan's_exclusive_economic_zone),[{{Cite web|url=http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/JODC/ryokai/ryokai_setsuzoku.html|title = 日本の領海等概念図}}] and the [Seikan Tunnel](/source/Seikan_Tunnel) remains entirely under Japanese jurisdiction even though part of it is technically outside Japan's territorial waters.
The Tsugaru Strait has eastern and western necks, both approximately 20 km across with maximum depths of 200 m and 140 m respectively.[{{cite journal| author=Tsuji, H., Sawada, T. and Takizawa, M. | title=Extraordinary inundation accidents in the Seikan undersea tunnel | journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering | year=1996 | volume=119 | issue= 1 | pages=1–14 | doi=10.1680/igeng.1996.28131}}]
There are also ferry services that operate across the strait, including the [Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry](/source/Tsugaru_Kaiky%C5%8D_Ferry) and the [Seikan ferry](/source/Seikan_ferry).
On September 26, 1954, 1,172 people died when the ferry ''[Tōya Maru](/source/T%C5%8Dya_Maru)'' sank in the strait.[{{cite web | title = Seikan Railroad Ferryboat Accident, Failure Knowledge Database | publisher = Japan Science and Technology Agency | url = http://shippai.jst.go.jp/en/Detail?fn=0&id=CA1000609& | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100722040342/http://shippai.jst.go.jp/en/Detail?fn=0&id=CA1000609& | archivedate = 2010-07-22 }}]
[Thomas Blakiston](/source/Thomas_Blakiston), an English explorer and naturalist, noticed that animals in Hokkaido were related to northern Asian species, whereas those on Honshu to the south were related to those from southern Asia. The Tsugaru Strait was therefore established as a major zoogeographical boundary, and became known as ''[Blakiston's Line](/source/Blakiston's_Line)''.[{{cite web | title = Nature in Japan | publisher = Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan | url = http://www.env.go.jp/earth/coop/coop/materials/08-ttmnce/08-ttmnce-21.pdf}}]
== See also ==
* [Exclusive economic zone of Japan](/source/Exclusive_economic_zone_of_Japan)
* [Geography of Japan](/source/Geography_of_Japan)
* [Mutsu Bay](/source/Mutsu_Bay)
* [Oceans Seven](/source/Oceans_Seven) marathon swimming challenge includes the Tsugaru Strait
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Tsugaru Strait}}
{{coord|41|29|57|N|140|36|57|E|region:JP_type:waterbody|display=title}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Straits of Japan
Category:Landforms of Aomori Prefecture
Category:Landforms of Hokkaido
Category:Oceans Seven swims
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tsugaru Strait](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsugaru_Strait) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsugaru_Strait?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.