Japan’s government spokesperson, Minoru Kihara, has voiced opposition to the Equal Earth map projection, which aims to replace the conventional Mercator projection. Kihara stated that the new map contains imagery that contradicts the Japanese government’s official position.
The map identifies the disputed Kuril Islands as part of Russian territory, a claim that Japan contests.
Contextual Background
- The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator in 1569, is suitable for navigation but distorts landmass sizes, making countries closer to the poles appear larger. For instance, Russia appears significantly larger than it is, while Africa is approximately 14 times the size of Greenland, despite being depicted as equal in size.
- Equal Earth, developed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers, provides a more accurate representation of land area proportions.
- In early September, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution advocating for the gradual shift from the traditional Mercator map to the Equal Earth projection, with 164 countries voting in favor. The United States opposed the resolution, while six other nations, including Ukraine, abstained.
- The Ukrainian delegation expressed concern that the Equal Earth maps depict parts of Ukrainian territory, currently occupied by Russia, in a manner they find unacceptable and in violation of international legal principles regarding sovereignty and territorial integrity.
