Rezensionen: Atlas of Japan

Summary

This is a comprehensive review of the Atlas of Japan published in Tokyo in 1970. The atlas can be classified as a medium-sized national atlas in terms of content and scope, with predominant scales of 1:4 million, 1:6 million, and 1:8 million. The review covers both the physical geography section (including topography, volcanism, climate, vegetation, and other thematic maps) and the human-economic section (including population, economic structure, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry, and transportation). The author notes that the atlas excels in several areas, including the natural landscape classification map, oceanographic maps, geological overview map, and land use map, which are well-designed and highly informative. However, several shortcomings are also identified, such as inappropriate scale selection in some cases (e.g., the rice cultivation map at 1:40 million), severe symbol overlap in urban agglomerations (up to approximately 50%), and insufficient differentiation in the upper blue color gradations. Overall, the printing quality of the atlas is impeccable, vividly demonstrating the advanced state of Japan's polygraphic technology.