Japan's LDP Discusses Penalties for Defacing National Flag

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has begun discussions on establishing penalties for acts of defacing the nation's flag. Approximately 10 lawmakers, including LDP Diet member Hirokazu Matsuno, gathered at the party headquarters on the 27th to review cases of national flag desecration laws in other countries and explore the possibility of introducing legislation. — Reported by Asahi Shimbun.

Under current Japanese penal law, defacing a foreign flag is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 200,000 yen. However, there are no specific penal provisions for the defacement of the Japanese national flag, the Hinomaru.

Takayuki Kobayashi, chairman of the LDP's Research Committee on Political Systems, stated at a press conference on the 26th that he felt a "great sense of disharmony" over the lack of penalties for damaging the Hinomaru, unlike for foreign flags, and argued for the necessity of legal revision.