Outrage over world map – island chain depicted as Russian

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 04.05

 

The volcanic island of Kunashiri, part of the Kuril Islands—an archipelago stretching from the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula to the northern tip of Japan's Hokkaido. File photo. Photo: AP/TT

Japan is questioning the new world map adopted by the UN last week. On the map, the disputed Kuril Islands archipelago is depicted as Russian.

Japan is demanding a correction to the new map, which the UN General Assembly voted to approve on Friday.

"We have lodged a protest," says government spokesperson Minoru Kihara.

The Kuril Islands have been a subject of dispute for well over a century. In 1945, the Soviet Union seized the archipelago and expelled the Japanese population; today, all the islands fall under Russian jurisdiction. Japan maintains that several of the islands belong to its territory, and relations between Tokyo and Moscow soured significantly when Vladimir Putin recently made a surprise visit to the island of Iturup.

Japan was among the 164 UN members that voted in favor of the new map, which depicts Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and Oceania in a larger, more accurate format than traditional maps.

Japan ifrågasätter den nya världskarta som FN antog i förra veckan. På kartan framstår den