Maps have a clear-cut way of dividing the world. Geography becomes static when laid out over two dimensions; there is little space to recognise competing claims over territory. Yet, mapmakers manage to introduce ambiguity and spark diplomatic crises. Witness Japan’s ire at a perceived slight by India’s official mapmaking agency, the Survey of India. It apparently omitted to name a sea in the western Pacific between the Japanese archipelago and the Asian continent. Tokyo’s preferred name for the sea is the Sea of Japan. This is contested by the Koreas. Read More
