The Japanese sea lion was once found along the northwest Pacific coastline, specifically in Japan, Korea, southern Kamchatka Peninsula. There are old accounts in Korea of the Japanese sea lion ranging into the BoHai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and Sea of Japan. The population of Japanese sea lions was estimated to be between 30,000 - 50,000 in the mid-1700's. The Wakan Sansai Zue, a Japanese encyclopedia of that time period, said that, "the meat was not tasty and they were only used to render oil for oil lamps". The Japanese sea lion's organs were also used for various medicines. Its whiskers were used as pipe cleaners and its hides were used for leather products. Some individuals were captured and put in zoos or performed in circuses. By the early 1900's as many as 3,200 sea lion were killed each year. By 1915, the annual harvest had dropped to 300 individuals. In the 1930's the harvest was only a few dozen sea lions. Commercial hunting of the Japanese sea lion was ended in the 1940's. It is estimated that hunting harvest 16,500 Japanese sea lions, and was the biggest reason for their decline. The fighting in Japanese waters and submarine warfare during WWII also seemed to play a part, as it destroyed part of the sea lion's habitat. There were rumors, though no specific accounts, that soldiers may have used the sea lions as target practice during the war. In 1951 there was a credible report of 50 to 60 Japanese sea lions on the Liancourt Rocks, a small island group in the Japanese Sea just between Honshu and South Korea. The last confirmed Japanese sea lion was a juvenile specimen captured in 1974 off the coast of Rebun Island, northern Hokkaido. There have been several unconfirmed accounts of Japanese sea lions since then. In 1983 and 1985 there were reports. There were two recent reports; one at Iwami, Tottori in July of 2003 and one on the Koshiki Jima Islands in March of 2016. Both animals were positively identified as sea lions from photographs, but whether they were indeed Japanese sea lions could not be confirmed. The Steller's sea lion's range can reach the Pacific NorthWest, which may explain some of the sightings. Until 2003, the Japanese sea lion was seen as a subspecies of the California sea lion, but DNA testing showed they were different species. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Japanese sea lion might be a good candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the 4 specimens found at the Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan or the specimen collected by Philipp Franz von Siebold during his stay on Dejima Island near Nagasaki which is located at the Natural History Museum in Leiden, Netherlands. If the Japanese sea lion was brought back from extinction could it survive in the waters near Japan and Korea today? In 2007, the South Korean Ministry of Environment announced that South Korea, North Korea, Russia, & China would work together to bring sea lions back to the Sea of Japan. Their first mission was to look for any still existing population of native Japanese sea lions. If none were located, the plan was to reintroduce California sea lions into the Sea of Japan. The thought was that this would help make for a healthier marine ecosystem. Although this plan seemed positive at the time, the tensions between these countries, as well as other factors since 2007, have postponed any progress. Only time will see if sea lions will be introduced back into the ecosystem or not.