Book Reviews and Introductions: Atlas of Japan

Summary

This review introduces the Atlas of Japan—physical, Economical and Social—1970, compiled by the International Society for Educational Information with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Edited by Ryūjirō Ishida, the atlas was designed to accurately present Japan to the international community. It contains 73 multi-colored maps covering natural conditions, cities and population, agriculture and fisheries, mining and manufacturing, trade, transportation, and culture, supplemented by detailed explanations in English, French, and Spanish. The reviewer regards the atlas as markedly superior to commercial economic atlases in its use of authoritative data, cartographic expression, and reproduction quality. Notably, it articulates Japan's official position on territorial issues such as the Northern Territories, unlike ambiguous presentations found elsewhere. While a few maps are either too detailed or too generalized for their scales, the overall composition is balanced and unified. In the absence of a Japanese national atlas, this work effectively functions as a quasi-national atlas for overseas audiences.