Upper House passes flag-desecration bill despite constitutional concerns

The Upper House on Friday passed legislation criminalizing the desecration of Japan’s national flag, with support from parts of the opposition despite concerns that the measure could infringe on freedom of expression.

The law will punish anyone who publicly damages, removes or defaces the flag in a way deemed likely to cause “extreme discomfort or disgust to others.”

Set to take effect in early August, the law states violators could face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to ¥200,000 ($1,250).

“Insulting the national flag undermines the dignity of the country and hurts citizens who hold it dearly,” Mizuho Umemura, a Sanseito lawmaker, told the Upper House plenary session the same day, adding that a legislature must set a clear standard.

The bill defines the flag as a tangible object generally recognized under the Act on the National Flag and National Anthem. It is expected to exclude miniature flags used to decorate food, as well as depictions of the flag in paintings, manga, anime, video games and works generated using artificial intelligence.

The Democratic Party for the People (DPP), which co-sponsored the bill after securing the removal of a provision that would have punished individuals for recording their own act of flag desecration and sharing the footage online, backed it in the Upper House after sitting out the Lower House vote in June.

Sanseito also voted for the legislation alongside the DPP and the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party (also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai).

Critics have warned that the law’s broad and subjective language could restrict freedom of thought and expression and create uncertainty over what constitutes punishable conduct.

During an Upper House Cabinet Committee hearing on Tuesday, two constitutional law scholars invited by the opposition to give testimony heavily criticized the legislation. Both added the measure could be unconstitutional.

Speaking on Friday at the plenary session, Ayaka Shiomura of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party called the bill “dangerous” and one that “strikes at the foundation of the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Supporters have argued that the law is needed to protect the dignity of the national flag and rectify a legal loophole. Japanese criminal law currently punishes the desecration of foreign flags but not of its own.

Public opinion appears to favor some form of criminalization. An FNN-Sankei poll conducted in July found that 61.7% supported creating a flag-desecration offense carrying a criminal penalty, while 28.8% opposed.