Japan protests Equal Earth map showing disputed Northern Territories as Russian land
Japan’s spokesperson Minoru Kihara said the map’s depiction contradicts Japan’s position and urged the website hosting it to correct the labeling. The United Nations had recently urged member states to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which colors the disputed islands in the same hue as Russian land and labels them with Russian names. Japan maintains that the islands, part of the Kuril chain, are not covered by the San Francisco Treaty and therefore remain Japanese territory. The map’s creator, Tom Patterson, indicated a willingness to alter the Japanese-language version while keeping the English version unchanged.
Japan lodged a formal complaint after the Equal Earth projection, promoted by a UN-backed resolution, displayed the four islands it calls the Northern Territories in the same color as Russian territory and used Russian place names. In a regular briefing, government spokesman Minoru Kihara condemned the depiction as inconsistent with Japan’s stance and asked the site hosting the map to amend it. The UN General Assembly had earlier voted overwhelmingly for nations to replace Mercator maps with the more accurate Equal Earth version.
The disputed islands, seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World II and administered by Russia since the USSR’s collapse, are claimed by Japan as part of Hokkaido’s north-west. Tom Patterson, the map’s creator, told Fuji News Network that the Japanese-language edition would be revised to match Japan’s claim, while the English edition would retain the current coloring reflecting Russia’s de-facto control. The episode revives longstanding tensions between Tokyo and Moscow over the Kuril Islands.
