Japan Passes Flag Insult Bill, Threatening 2 Years in Prison

JAKARTA - The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan has approved a bill (RUU) that prohibits the desecration of the Hinomaru national flag.

The bill, which is targeted for approval before mid-July, is one of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's top legislative priorities.

"While continuing to pay full attention to freedom of expression, the state has the responsibility to punish actions that damage the national flag, the symbol of our country, with the aim of insulting," said Acting Secretary General of the LDP Koichi Hagiuda.

The bill states that a person who publicly damages, removes, or defaces the Japanese flag with the intention of insulting it can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison or a fine of up to 200,000 yen (about Rp21 million).

The provision also applies to individuals who broadcast it live or upload videos of flag desecration via the internet.

However, some opposition circles say the rule has the potential to violate the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. They assess that there is not yet a strong enough reason to impose the rule.

The Secretary-General of the Central Reform Alliance Party, Takeshi Shina, said the criminal penalty in the bill "severely restricts human rights" and there is no clear reason to make it a preventive instrument.

To allay concerns about freedom of expression, the bill also regulates a number of exceptions, including the use of flags to support national athletes as well as depictions of flag destruction in fictional works such as films, anime, manga, and video games, and content generated by generative artificial intelligence (AI generatif), is also excluded.

In previous discussions, the parties have also agreed that small Japanese flags that are generally included as decorations on children's dishes in restaurants will not be affected by the provision.