Japan seeks UN map change over Kuril islands

Japan said Thursday it had asked for a new United Nations world map to be revised because it made the disputed Kuril islands appear to belong to Russia.

Top Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara said the map, known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection, "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 told reporters.

Japan was among 164 UN members that supported the resolution adopting the map. Kihara said Japan needed to prevent misconceptions about its territories and geographical names from spreading.

The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to adopt the map, which the UN said aims to present "a more accurate representation" of continental landmasses than traditional Mercator projections. The map makes Africa larger while shrinking North America and Europe, drawing condemnation from the United States.

The Kurils, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, are disputed between Japan and Russia. The islands were seized in 1945 by the former Soviet Union, which then expelled the Japanese population.

Relations between Japan and Russia soured significantly last month when President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the disputed islands for the first time. Japan summoned Moscow's ambassador, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Putin's visit "offends the sentiments of the Japanese people" and was "absolutely unacceptable".

Takaichi said the islands were "an inherent part of Japan's territory, both historically and under international law". Moscow said it "categorically" rejects such statements, calling them politically inappropriate, insulting and legally unfounded.