Old Japanese maps on Google Earth unveil
secrets
When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online
collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash.
The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for
centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a
historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any
problems.
But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received,
as it has often done in Japan. The company is now facing inquiries
from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice
because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste
communities.
The maps date back to the country's feudal era, when shoguns
ruled and a strict caste system was in place. At the bottom of the
hierarchy were a class called the "burakumin," ethnically identical
to other Japanese but forced to live in isolation because they did
jobs associated with death, such as working with leather,
butchering animals and digging graves.
Castes have long since been abolished, and the old buraku
villages have largely faded away or been swallowed by Japan's
sprawling metropolises. Today, rights groups say the descendants of
burakumin make up about 3 million of the country's 127 million
people.
But they still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where
they live or their ancestors lived. Moving is little help, because
employers or parents of potential spouses can hire agencies to
check for buraku ancestry through Japan's elaborate family records,
which can span back over a hundred years.
An employee at a large, well-known Japanese company, who works
in personnel and has direct knowledge of its hiring practices, said
the company actively screens out burakumin job seekers.
"If we suspect that an applicant is a burakumin, we always do a
background check to find out," she said. She agreed to discuss the
practice only on condition that neither she nor her company be
identified.
Lists of "dirty" addresses circulate on Internet bulletin
boards. Some surveys have shown that such neighborhoods have lower
property values than surrounding areas, and residents have been the
target of racial taunts and graffiti. But the modern locations of
the old villages are largely unknown to the general public, and
many burakumin prefer it that way.
Google Earth's maps pinpointed several such areas. One village
in Tokyo was clearly labeled "eta," a now strongly derogatory word
for burakumin that literally means "filthy mass." A single click
showed the streets and buildings that are currently in the same
area.
Google posted the maps as one of many "layers" available via its
mapping software, each of which can be easily matched up with
modern satellite imagery. The company provided no explanation or
historical context, as is common practice in Japan. Its basic
stance is that its actions are acceptable because they are legal,
one that has angered burakumin leaders.
"If there is an incident because of these maps, and Google is
just going to say 'it's not our fault' or 'it's down to the user,'
then we have no choice but to conclude that Google's system itself
is a form of prejudice," said Toru Matsuoka, a member of Japan's
upper house of parliament.
Asked about its stance on the issue, Google responded with a
formal statement that "we deeply care about human rights and have
no intention to violate them."
Google spokesman Yoshito Funabashi points out that the company
doesn't own the maps in question, it simply provides them to users.
Critics argue they come packaged in its software, and the
distinction is not immediately clear.
Printing such maps is legal in Japan. But it is an area where
publishers and museums tread carefully, as the burakumin leadership
is highly organized and has offices throughout the country. Public
showings or publications are nearly always accompanied by a
historical explanation, a step Google failed to take.
Matsuoka, whose Osaka office borders one of the areas shown,
also serves as secretary general of the Buraku Liberation League,
Japan's largest such group. After discovering the maps last month,
he raised the issue to Justice Minister Eisuke Mori at a public
legal affairs meeting on March 17.
Two weeks later, after the public comments and at least one
reporter contacted Google, the old Japanese maps were suddenly
changed, wiped clean of any references to the buraku villages.
There was no note made of the changes, and they were seen by some
as an attempt to quietly dodge the issue.
"This is like saying those people didn't exist. There are people
for whom this is their hometown, who are still living there now,"
said Takashi Uchino from the Buraku Liberation League headquarters
in Tokyo.
The Justice Ministry is now "gathering information" on the
matter, but has yet to reach any kind of conclusion, according to
ministry official Hideyuki Yamaguchi.
The League also sent a letter to Google, a copy of which was
provided to The Associated Press. It wants a meeting to discuss its
knowledge of the buraku issue and position on the use of its
services for discrimination. It says Google should "be aware of and
responsible for providing a service that can easily be used as a
tool for discrimination."
Google has misjudged public sentiment before. After cool
responses to privacy issues raised about its Street View feature,
which shows ground-level pictures of Tokyo neighborhoods taken
without warning or permission, the company has faced strong public
criticism and government hearings. It has also had to negotiate
with Japanese companies angry over their copyrighted materials
uploaded to its YouTube property.
An Internet legal expert said Google is quick to take advantage
of its new technologies to expand its advertising network, but
society often pays the price.
"This is a classic example of Google outsourcing the risk and
appropriating the benefit of their investment," said David Vaile,
executive director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Center at the
University of New South Wales in Australia.
The maps in question are part of a larger collection of Japanese
maps owned by the University of California at Berkeley. Their
digital versions are overseen by David Rumsey, a collector in the
U.S. who has more than 100,000 historical maps of his own. He hosts
more than 1,000 historical Japanese maps as part of a massive,
English-language online archive he runs, and says he has never had
a complaint.
It was Rumsey who worked with Google to post the maps in its
software, and who was responsible for removing the references to
the buraku villages. He said he preferred to leave them untouched
as historical documents, but decided to change them after the
search company told him of the complaints from Tokyo.
"We tend to think of maps as factual, like a satellite picture,
but maps are never neutral, they always have a certain point of
view," he said.
Rumsey said he'd be willing to restore the maps to their
original state in Google Earth. Matsuoka, the lawmaker, said he is
open to a discussion of the issue.
A neighborhood in central Tokyo, a few blocks from the touristy
Asakusa area and the city's oldest temple, was labeled as an old
"eta" village in the maps. It is indistinguishable from countless
other Tokyo communities, except for a large number of leather
businesses offering handmade bags, shoes and furniture.
When shown printouts of the maps from Google Earth, several
older residents declined to comment. Younger people were more open
on the subject.
Wakana Kondo, 27, recently started working in the neighborhood,
at a new business that sells leather for sofas. She was surprised
when she learned the history of the area, but said it didn't bother
her.
"I learned about the burakumin in school, but it was always
something abstract," she said. "That's a really interesting bit of
history, thank you."