Equal Earth map revised to show Northern Territories as Japanese territory

The creator of the ‘Equal Earth’ map, Tom Patterson, has revised the Japanese version of his world map to reflect Japan’s sovereignty claims over the Northern Territories. The change follows a request from the Japanese government, which argued that the previous version incorrectly displayed the disputed islands in the same color as Russian territory.

In the updated Japanese version, the islands are now colored to match the Japanese archipelago, and their labels have been changed from Russian names to Japanese names, specifically ‘Etorofu’ and ‘Kunashiri’. However, the English version of the map maintains a neutral grey for these islands to reflect the current status of effective control.

The ‘Equal Earth’ projection, which aims to represent the relative area of countries more accurately, was recently encouraged for use by a United Nations General Assembly resolution.

Russia has reacted strongly to the Japanese government’s request for corrections, with presidential aide Ushakov describing the move as ‘absurd’. Russia maintains its position of effective control over the islands, which Japan asserts are its inherent territory illegally occupied following World War II.