Introduction 
In the period of 1972—1975, the technical manuals of map production in many 
areas, such as road construction works, were standardized and unified in Japan. 
Working processes and working methods of routine map making are almost fixed 
and do not show many varieties. 
Map making organizations in Japan also do not change so much. Main map 
producing organizations in Japan are: 
a) The Geographical Survey Institute, Ministry of Construction 
The Geographical Survey Institute carries out the national basic survey in 
accordance with the ten year project. The national basic survey includes the 
production of several kinds of thematic maps, such as land use maps and land 
classification maps, as well as the establishment of the national ground control 
points and the production of basic topographic maps. 
b) The Forestry Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 
The Forestry Agency carries out the project of producing maps of forest area 
with the scale of 1 : 5,000 for forest management. 
c) The Hydrographical Office of Maritime Safety Agencies, Ministry of Transport 
The Hydrographic Office carries out the production of maps of coastal area 
and sea area. 
d) The private survey companies 
There are approximately 4,000 registered survey companies in Japan. With 
the support of approximately 1,000 of the larger companies, the Survey Enter- 
prise Association of Japan was established in 1961. More than 90% of sur- 
veying works in Japan is carried out by private companies. 
From the research point of view, the interests of Japanese photogrammetrists 
seem to be concentrated on the development of remote sensing technique. The title 
of the journal of the Japan Society of Photogrammetry has been changed from 
“PHOTOGRAMMETRY” to “PHOTOGRAMMETRY and REMOTE SENS- 
ING”. The Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan was established to promote 
comprehensive research and development of remote sensing. 
Chapter I 
In 1974 a remarkably big project of aerial colour photography was started in Japan. 
This project forms a link in the chain of the national numerical information project 
and colour photographs are used for interpretation of land use pattern and the other 
important factors of the land. The scales of photographs are 1 : 8,000 for flat area 
and 1 : 10,000 — 1 : 15,000 for hilly and mountainous area. In 1974 the area of 
79,113 km? was photographed and in 1975 the area of 76,534 km? was photo- 
graphed. Within 4 years the whole land of the country, approximately 390,000 km?, 
will be covered by colour photographs. 
Parallel to the execution of the project, some research of subjective judgement 
of the quality of colour photographs was executed. The results of this research 
show that the dispersion of subjective judgement is not as wide as expected. 
The technique of photo-treatment has been improved considerably. 
Concerning the camera calibration, the following research was reported in the 
journal of the Japan Society of Photogrammetry. 
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