SENDAI —

Japanese researchers are trying to use thousands of topographic maps of Asia-Pacific countries, produced secretly by the former Imperial Japanese Army, for peaceful purposes, such as environmental research and anti-disaster programs. The state-run Tohoku University, which is headquartered in Sendai, northeastern Japan, has posted about 6,000 such topographic maps, called ‘‘gaihozu’’ or the maps of foreign countries at the time, on the Internet. The website, currently available in Japanese only, is called the Gaihozu Digital Archive (http://dbs.library.tohoku.ac.jp/gaihozu/).
   
The map coverage ranges from Alaska in the north to parts of the mainland United States in the east, Australia in the south, and Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west. Hawaii and Madagascar are also covered. Geographer Ryohei Sekine, assistant professor at Tohoku University, says the maps are accurate and contain information that can be used even today. ‘‘We’d like to revive the maps and share the information, and help save the global environment,’’ he said. Last year, Tohoku University made public some ‘‘gaihozu’’ maps around the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar to support rescue activities at the time of a major cyclone disaster that claimed the lives of more than 130,000 people in the country. A researcher who visited the disaster-hit area said, ‘‘The locations of bridges, roads and hospitals on the maps were surprisingly accurate.’’

Kyodo

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