Tag - maps

 
 

MAPS

Takako Yamashita, a descendant of a former Japanese resident of the Russian-controlled islands called the Northern Territories, seeks to preserve memories of life on the isles through the creation of pictorial maps.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2024
Memories of Russian-held isles preserved through pictorial maps
The maps feature the names of residents on each house and colorful illustrations of flora and fauna, as well as scenes from daily life.
Japan is divided into many different regions, sometimes distinguishing areas of the country by old borders or climate.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 16, 2024
When it comes to Japan, do you know your 'Kanto' from your 'Kanto-koshin'?
Japanese people tend to travel to their hometowns around this time of year, and asking where they went is an easy conversation starter.
Inscriptions on a disaster monument in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture (left), can be seen clearly when illuminated using a smartphone app "Hikari Takuhon" developed by researcher Hideyuki Uesugi.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024
Number of natural disaster monuments on state map increasing in Japan
Stone monuments inscribed with descriptions of the damage caused by past natural disasters and lessons from forerunners have been erected since ancient times.
For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 7, 2024
Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.
Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.
A monument for the Great Kanto Earthquake on the premises of the education ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024
Use of disaster monument symbols expanding five years after launch
As of March, the number of these symbols put on maps maintained by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan has surpassed 2,000 nationwide.
One of the lawyers representing a group of doctors suing Google told a news conference that the main purpose of the lawsuit is not to seek compensation but instead to raise awareness over various problems with the Google Maps system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2024
In a first, Japan doctors sue Google over negative reviews on firm's map app
The suit is the first in Japan — and possibly the world — to target a platform rather than the individuals who posted the reviews, lawyers said.
Visual AI allows us to see more than meets the eye when looking at cities like Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023
AI will show us the future of cities, if we guide the way
Visual AI can help us better see our cities, from crime rates to property values, but only human intelligence can tell the forest from the trees.
The Nagor fishing harbor in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2016
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 28, 2023
Indian fishermen use smartphones to map a vanishing way of life
Port and power plant development plans could beach a flotilla of boats that trawl the waters for mackerel and sea bass.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 13, 2022
Siberia or Japan? Expert Google Maps players can tell at a glimpse.
In GeoGuessr, competitors can tell you what road in the Philippines a music video was filmed on and distinguish Latvia from Lithuania while blindfolded.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 12, 2020
As Myanmar erases names of destroyed Rohingya villages, U.N. map-makers follow suit
On maps produced in 2020 by the U.N. mapping unit in Myanmar, which it says are based on Myanmar government maps, the site of the destroyed village is now nameless.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Mar 2, 2019
Google Maps could point users down the wrong path
One could almost be forgiven for thinking that con artists are a dime a dozen in Japan. They've been terrorizing elderly folk over the telephone in recent years with their ore-ore sagi ("It's me" scams) and sending threatening emails that warn recipients their computer has been hacked and compromising...
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2018
2019 debut eyed for Japan electronic map system for sharing disaster info
The Japanese government plans to fully launch in fiscal 2019 a system in which information on earthquakes, heavy rain and other disasters collected by government agencies and local authorities is displayed on electronic maps, informed sources have said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2018
Online map plots the many spots that boast a view of Mount Fuji
The Japan Map Center on Monday released an online guide to locations where Mount Fuji can be viewed, showing that the nation's renowned 3,776-meter volcano can be observed from as far as 300 km away.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 11, 2016
Japan moves to develop homegrown GPS
With the proliferation of smartphones and other devices, the use of GPS — the global positioning system — has become ubiquitous. From pinpointing one's location to getting directions online, satellite-based navigation is driving the interactive use of online maps.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 11, 2015
'Cartographic Traditions in East Asian Maps' explores an uncharted region of study
East Asian mapmakers began rendering their corner of the globe centuries before they considered the wider world. "Cartographic Traditions in East Asian Maps" examines these geographical depictions made by the artisans and bureaucrats of China, Korea and Japan.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 6, 2015
Watch out for hidden hazards of buying land
When we were looking for property we consulted topographical maps prior to checking a particular piece of land in person. Understanding the elevation of a plot is important if you're buying land near the coast or along a river. In the event of flooding or a tsunami, it's obviously better to be located...
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Aug 23, 2014
Lost in direction
American traveler #1: Why don't you just use your GPS?

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition