Politics
Japan urges UN to revise new world map over depiction of disputed Kuril islands
September 10, 2026 at 10:38 PM · Updated 35d ago
Coverage
3 reports · 1 in Arabic, 2 in English · over 20 hours
AJAl Jazeera English
Japan, India, Ukraine: Why some countries are uneasy about new UN map
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AJAl Jazeera Arabic
اليابان تطالب الأمم المتحدة بمراجعة خريطة العالم الجديدة
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TGThe Guardian
Japan seeks change to new UN world map over Russia 'misconception'
(opens the publisher’s site)Japan has asked the United Nations to revise its newly adopted world map, saying the chart shows the disputed Kuril islands as part of Russia.
- The UN General Assembly adopted the new map last week with support from 164 members including Japan, enlarging Africa and shrinking North America and Europe.
- Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said the map contradicted Japan's position, and Tokyo lodged a diplomatic protest demanding its correction.
- Japan summoned Moscow's ambassador after President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to the disputed islands last month.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the islands are inherently Japanese territory historically and under international law.
Latest developments
- Sep 11 — The UN map in question is the Equal Earth projection, which depicts continents at their true relative sizes.
- Sep 11 — India has also raised concerns about how disputed territories are shaded on the new map, alongside Japan's protest.
- Sep 11 — Ukraine is separately seeking a correction over the map's depiction of Crimea.