Japan backed new UN world map. Now it wants it changed over disputed islands
Japan has asked for changes to the new UN-backed Equal Earth world map, which it voted to support last week, because the map depicts disputed islands claimed by Tokyo in the same color as Russia, Thr Guardian reports.
Japanese government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said the map “contained a depiction contradicting the Japanese government’s position.”.
“We lodged a protest with the map site’s operator through our diplomatic channel to demand the correction of this depiction,” Kihara said, adding that Japan wanted to prevent “misconceptions of our territories and geographical names from spreading.”
Japan claims four southern islands in the Kuril chain, which it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union seized the islands in 1945, and they remain under Russian control. The territorial dispute has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a formal peace treaty after World War II.
The UN General Assembly voted last week to use the Equal Earth projection, designed to represent the relative size of continents more accurately than the traditional Mercator projection. Japan was among 164 countries that supported the resolution.
Ukraine was among six countries that abstained. Kyiv objected after Russian-occupied Crimea was shown in a different color from the rest of Ukraine, warning that such depictions could open a “Pandora’s box” and undermine international law.
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