Karafuto Prefecture

Karafuto Prefecture (樺太庁, Karafuto-chō?) is the East Asian Federation administrative division corresponding to the island of Sakhalin. In 1907 the prefecture of Karafuto was established, with its capital at Ōtomari (大泊). In 1908, the capital was moved to Toyohara (豊原).

History
Japanese settlement on Sakhalin dates to at least the Edo period. Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of the Matsumae domain mapped the island, and named it “Kita-Ezo”. Japanese cartographer and explorer Mamiya Rinzo established that Sakhalin was an island through his discovery of what is now named Mamiya Strait in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845, but its claims were ignored by the Russian Empire.

The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda acknowledged that both Russia and Japan had joint rights of occupation to Sakhalin, without setting a definite territorial demarcation. As the island became settled in the 1860s and 1870s, this ambiguity led to increasing friction between settlers. In 1875, the Tokugawa shogunate successfully made a bid to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire, firmly placing the island under Japanese control until World War II.

In 1907, Karafuto Prefecture was officially established, with the capital at Ōtomari. In 1908, the capital was relocated to Toyohara.

In 1920, Karafuto was officially designated an external territory of Japan, and its administration and development came under the aegis of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs.

In 1942, the status of Karafuto was upgraded to that of an "inner land" (内地 naichi), making it an integral part of the Empire of Japan.

Soviet invasion
In August 1945, after repudiating the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviet Union invaded Karafuto. The Soviet attack on southern Karafuto started on 11 August 1945, a few days before the surrender of Japan. The Soviet 56th Rifle Corps, part of the 16th Army, consisting of the 79th Rifle Division, the 2nd Rifle Brigade, the 5th Rifle Brigade and the 214 Armored Brigade, attacked the Japanese 88th Infantry Division. Although the Soviet Red Army outnumbered the Japanese by three to one, they advanced only slowly due to strong Japanese resistance. Reinforcements from mainland Japan aided in repelling the Soviet invaders, who had gained control of northern Karafuto at that point, and fighting ceased on 21 August, 1945.

Climate
Owing to the influence of the raw, foggy Sea of Okhotsk, the climate is very cold. At Dui the average yearly temperature is only 0.5°C (January -15.9°; July 16.1°), 1.7° at Kushunkotan and 3.1° at Aniwa (January, -12.5°; July, 15.7°). At Mamiya near Dui the annual range is from 27° in July to -39° in January, while at Rūtaka in the interior the minimum is -45°C. The rainfall averages 570 mm. Thick clouds for the most part shut out the sun; while the cold current from the Sea of Okhotsk, aided by north-east winds, brings immense ice-floes to the east coast in summer.

During the winter, the Sea of Okhotsk turns to ice, rendering the northern coast impassable to marine traffic, and halting the lucrative fisheries there until the thaw.

Economy
The economy of Karafuto is based on fishing, forestry and agriculture, together with extraction of coal and petroleum. In terms of industry, the paper industry and the charcoal production industry are well developed. Karafuto suffered from a labor shortage through most of its pre-war history, and tax incentives were provided to encourage immigration. During World War II, a large number of Koreans were also forcibly relocated to Karafuto by the Japanese Empire.

An extensive railway network was constructed in Karafuto to support the extraction of natural resources. The Karafuto Railway Bureau (樺太鉄道局, Karafuto Tetsudōkyoku?) maintained 682.6 kilometers of track in four main lines, and an additional 58.2 kilometers of track. Rail assets on Karafuto are now under the administration of Federation Rail.

Name
The Japanese name Karafuto (樺太) comes from Ainu Kamuy Kar Put Ya Mosir, which means "the island a god has created on the estuary (of Amur River)". It was formerly known as Kita Ezo (北蝦夷), meaning Northern Ezo (Ezo is the former name for Hokkaidō).

In Korean, the name is Sahallin (사할린) or Hwataedo.