Pyeongchang Olympics organizers fix map that omitted Japan

TOKYO (AP) - South Korean organizers of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics corrected a map on their official website after Japanese sports officials complained that Japan was missing.

The Japan Sports Agency said officials discovered the omission Wednesday, after receiving a number of calls from the public. The agency demanded a correction via the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, agency official Masahide Katsumata said.

Katsumata said Japan was not on the map when he checked early Wednesday.

The world map on the "Dream Program" section of the website for the 2018 Winter Olympics has since been corrected.

An official from the Pyeongchang organizing committee said Japan's omission was a "simple mistake" caused by changes in image files when organizers updated the Olympic website in February.

"We'll keep watching," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

The two countries have had past disputes over Japan's wartime aggression and territorial issues.

Japan wants South Korea to stop using "East Sea" as the name of the waters between the two countries, which Tokyo says should be "Japan Sea." The two countries also dispute ownership of a cluster of islands controlled by South Korea but also claimed by Japan.

The Korean names of those islands are still on another map on the Pyeongchang 2018 website. Suga called it "extremely inappropriate" and said Japan will keep protesting.