Japan Revamps Map Symbols

Above, a symbol used to denote a temple that some found offensive. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan has a funny way of trying to convey through symbols on what places are on maps. But, one has to give them credit for realizing their mistakes and taking steps to fix them.

The latest are pictograms that baffled foreign tourists.

According to The Japan Times:

The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has released a set of new standard symbols for foreign-language maps after criticism that some of its current pictograms are hard to understand or are even offensive. 

The most notorious of these is the swastika-like symbol for a temple. Likewise, a big X leaves some foreigners scratching their heads: It denotes a police box.

To read more and to see what the new symbols look like and what they denote, go here.