Kuroshio is a warm, dark-colored current in the western Pacific Ocean. Kuroshio is Japanese for black current. The Kuroshio is also called the Japan Current. The Kuroshio has a warming effect on the climate for much of its course. It begins in the Philippine Sea, where it separates from the North Equatorial Current. It passes Taiwan and heads northeast toward Japan. Near Japan, the stream turns east, becoming the Kuroshio Extension. This current meets the cold Oyashio, also called the Kuril Current. Together, they merge into the North Pacific Current.