A map intended to redraw the world more fairly has instead redrawn old wounds. Japan, which voted to adopt the United Nations' new Equal Earth projection, now protests that the same document renders the disputed Kuril Islands in Russian colors — a quiet cartographic choice that lands with the force of a sovereignty claim. The episode reveals how even the most technical acts of representation are never truly neutral, and how a line drawn in good faith can become a border contested in anger.
Japan protests UN's new world map over Kuril Islands depiction
Politics & Governance