Japan has protested a new world map adopted by the UN after it showed the disputed Kuril Islands as part of Russia.
Japan’s government demanded a correction to the map, known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection.
The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to adopt a new map of the world, passed with the support of 164 nations, including France and the UK, while the US voted against it.
The new map fixed the discrepancy with the Mercator map, which was created in 1569 and showed the African continent as being of similar size to Greenland – even though it is in reality about 14 times larger.
However, Japan is among several countries that have disputed the new map because it shows the Kurils, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, in the same colour as Russia.
Japanese government spokesperson, Minoru Kihara, said the new map “contained a depiction contradicting the Japanese government’s position”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, interacts with local residents in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands (AP)
“We lodged a protest with the map site’s operator through our diplomatic channel to demand the correction of this depiction,” Mr Kihara told reporters.
He said Japan “needs to prevent misconceptions of our territories and geographical names from spreading”.
The island has remained a bone of contention between Russia and Japan after a chain of islands was seized by the former Soviet Union in 1945, which then expelled the Japanese population.
Last month, Japan protested after Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the disputed Kuril Island in August. It marked his first visit to the island, sparking condemnation from prime minister Sanae Takaichi, who said the Russian president’s visit “offends the sentiments of the Japanese people”, and that it was “absolutely unacceptable”.
Equal Earth cartographic projection map voted in favour by 164 nations, including France and the UK, while the US voted against it (equal-earth.com)
She insisted the islands were “an inherent part of Japan’s territory, both historically and under international law”.
Moscow responded by “categorically” rejecting the statement, “which we consider politically inappropriate, insulting and, of course, legally unfounded”.
Relations have deteriorated sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after which Japan joined its Group of Seven partners in imposing sanctions on Moscow.
Ukraine last week abstained on the map in the UN vote after it showed annexed Crimea in a different colour to the rest of the country. Ukraine said it opens a “Pandora’s Box” violating the UN Charter and international law.
While India voted in favour of the map the foreign ministry said “an inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable” after the new map showed India’s border with Pakistan, the Line of Control, as a separate dotted line.
The map carried a disclaimer that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not been agreed upon by India and Pakistan, even as India depicts Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh within its boundaries.
AloJapan.com