Japan, India, Ukraine: Why some countries are uneasy about new UN map

What the report says

The United Nations General Assembly has backed a resolution encouraging countries to use the Equal Earth world map projection, a move intended to show continents in more accurate relative sizes than the long-used Mercator map. According to Al Jazeera, the vote passed overwhelmingly, with 164 countries in favor and six abstentions, following lobbying by the African Union. The resolution does not ban existing maps, but it has reopened debate over how the world should be represented on flat maps.

Al Jazeera reported that the United States was the only country to vote against the measure. Since the vote, Japan, India and Ukraine have each raised concerns, not about the idea of a new map itself but about how disputed territories appear on it. Their objections center on the colors and shading used for areas they consider part of their own territory.

Ukraine said the map gives Russian-occupied Crimea a shade that appears closer to Russia than to mainland Ukraine. Japan said it wants changes because the map treats the disputed Kuril Islands in the same colors as Russian territory. India said any depiction of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh must match its official map. The broader significance, as Al Jazeera noted, is that a technical cartographic change has become politically sensitive because map design can influence public perceptions of sovereignty and borders.