The last time I disagreed with Japan’s view regarding Google Street View, pretty well no one agreed with me. Not for the right reasons in my opinion, but maybe Japan has a case with Google in this instance: Google added historical maps to Google Earth forgetting to explain the ancient caste system in Japan.
Without historical context and explanation, the ‘lowest’ class in Japan–burakumin–feels targeted after several generations of torture was previously put behind them. The class, which was only segregated because they have jobs related to death, often are unable to get good jobs even in today’s society because of their heritage.
Without an explanation by Google, geographical borders and other data which pinpoint the class, but which has been unknown for ages, is public domain again. You see the obvious issue here, but Google claims that the maps aren’t their’s, so it’s not their issue. Bull. Google is an influential company that highlights all kinds of public issues, but pulls back in case like this? Not cool. I don’t agree with Google in this case.
