The Japanese government announced on Thursday that it has demanded a correction to a world map using the Equal Earth projection published on a website, arguing that the map uses the same color for Russian territory as for four islands subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.
The correction request was conveyed to the website operator through the Embassy of Japan in the United States, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara.
“The map shows representations that contradict the position of the Japanese government,” Kihara said at a press conference. “We must prevent the spread of misconceptions about the territories and geographic names of our country,” emphasized the main spokesperson for the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
According to The Japan Times, the map includes a description stating that the islands—called the “Northern Territories” by Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia—are under effective control of Russia, although Japan also claims sovereignty over them.
The Japanese government maintains that these islands are part of Japan’s inherent territory. The disputed islands were occupied in 1945 by the former Soviet Union, which subsequently expelled the Japanese population.
The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to adopt the new map—which increases the size of the African continent and reduces that of North America and Europe—prompting condemnation from the United States.
Japan was among the 164 UN members that supported the resolution but has now expressed disagreement because the map represents the disputed islands in the same color as Russia.
Relations between Japan and Russia deteriorated considerably last month when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the disputed islands for the first time.
Japan quickly summoned the Moscow ambassador. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that Putin’s visit “offends the feelings of the Japanese people” and added that it was “absolutely unacceptable.”
She affirmed that the islands are “an inherent part of Japan’s territory, both historically and legally.”
Moscow immediately responded by categorically rejecting such statements, “which we consider politically inappropriate, offensive, and, of course, legally unfounded.”
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