August 14, 2026

The law concerning the punishment for the desecration of Japan’s national flag, the “Hinomaru”, went into effect on August 13.

During Diet deliberations, the Japanese Communist Party argued that the legislation which prohibits desecrating the national flag will suppress people’s right to free speech overall and significantly stifle freedom of expression, and promoted a struggle against the law inside and outside the Diet in collaboration with concerned citizens and other parties. In defiance of strong opposition, it was enacted last month with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic and “Nippon Ishin no Kai” parties as well as from the Democratic Party for the People and the “Sanseito” party.

Citizen opposition continues, as shown by the fact that approximately 200 constitutional scholars on August 4 issued a statement calling for an immediate abolition of the flag desecration law.

The law states that acts of publicly damaging, removing or defacing the flag in a manner arousing significant discomfort or disgust could be punished with imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 200,000 yen. However, the scope of punishable acts is extremely vague, which creates a risk that acts subject to penalties could be expanded without limit depending on investigative authorities’ judgement. Furthermore, as the law carries a high risk of infringing on freedoms of thoughts, conscience, and expression, there are concerns that it could lead to a chilling effect on artistic expression and political activities.

The Ministry of Justice, upon the implementation of the flag desecration law, has launched a page on its website to explain the law in a Q&A format. On the page, as an answer to a question regarding acts punishable as vandalism, the ministry provides examples, such as burning the flag in front of stations, soiling it with feces and urine, and deliberately leaving it on public roads to be soiled by mud and rain. In response to the question regarding methods that “cause significant discomfort or disgust to others,” the explanatory page simply states that this refers to “methods that are perceived as extremely unpleasant to the average person.”

Past related articles:
> A spate of bad laws enacted while neglecting to alleviate people’s hardships [July 18, 2026]
> Punishing individuals for desecrating ‘Hinomaru’ flag is akin to punishing them for their inner thoughts [June 10, 2026]