Both maps below show Japan highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Japan about 1.6× at 38°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 377,915 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.6× inflation is why Japan dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Japan on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Japan: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Japan | 377,915 km² | 599,789 km² | 1.6× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Japan at about 599,789 km². The truth is 377,915 km², a difference of 59% that school atlases carried for centuries.