Japan’s national flag is now protected by the state and anyone who desecrates it can expect to feel the full force of the law, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Friday as she pushes forward with her conservative agenda.
The successful passage of the legislation highlights a win for Takaichi’s right-wing government and her supporters.
The government argues the law was needed because Japan already criminalised damaging foreign flags but had no equivalent rules covering its own.
Japan’s national flag is seen as an intrinsic element of the country’s identity that must be protected from those who would do it harm. The law will now punish anyone who publicly damages, removes or defaces the flag in a way deemed likely to cause “extreme discomfort or disgust to others.” (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty)
AFP reports new legislation outlines anyone who publicly damages, removes or defaces the national flag in a manner that causes significant discomfort or revulsion to others will face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 200,000 yen ($1,200).
In contrast, a U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled in 1989 that burning the U.S. national flag is protected under the First Amendment, invalidating state laws against desecrating the Stars and Stripes.
It ruled flag burning as a form of free speech under the First Amendment. The landmark case Texas v. Johnson (1989) established this right. The Court ruled that burning the flag to protest the government is symbolic speech, even if it deeply offends others.
Flag burning is also not explicitly illegal in the United Kingdom, as the laws in England, Wales, and Scotland do not recognize a specific crime of “flag desecration.”
So too Australia and Canada.
For opponents to the new law in Japan however, it is a step too far.
Opposition lawmaker Ayaka Shiomura expressed her doubts to the Japan government initiative, saying: “The destruction of national flags has historically been one of the strongest forms of political expression used by people to resist state power and to condemn discrimination.”
However, the bill passed the upper house to become a new law, with support from the ruling bloc and some opposition parties.
In a statement submitted to lawmakers last week as seen by AFP, 148 legal experts said they had “strong concerns that it could curb freedom of political expression” and grave worries “from the viewpoint of criminal law.”
Takaichi’s governing Liberal Democratic Party said violations include pulling down and discarding a national flag displayed at a municipal building; tearing, burning or cutting a national flag in a public space; stepping on a national flag, covering it with mud in public; livestreaming or uploading footage showing oneself cutting or burning a flag in a private space.
AFP contributed to this report