South Korea’s Formal Request To Ban Japan’s Rising Sun Flag At The 2020 Tokyo Olympics

What is the history behind this controversial flag? Image courtesy of upi.com

Japan’s rising sun flag has been offensive to some countries with the strongest criticism from South Korea which sparked movements to get it banned in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Critics say the flag is flown by fans who want to romanticise and rewrite the human rights abuses caused by Japanese forces in the past. Some politicians even compare it to the Nazi swastika. 

The South Korean government has asked the international Olympic authorities to ban the Japanese rising sun flag from 2020 Tokyo Games, as it is offensive reminder of colonial atrocities. 

The South Korean ministry noted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, the disappointment and concern over the possibility of the flag used in stadiums and that FIFA has already set the example of banning the rising sun flag at the international football matches. 

Furthermore, the South Korean ministry emphasised “the use of the rising sun flag during the Tokyo Olympics would be a direct violation of the Olympic spirit promoting world peace and love for humanity, and that the IOC should have the Tokyo organising committee withdraw its current stance on the flag and prepare strict measures to prevent it from being brought to stadiums.” 

However, Japan denied the ban of flag as it is widely used in Japan and is not a political statement.

The Rising Sun Flag 

Japan’s national flag is a simple red circle on a white background and the rising sun flag has a similar red circle but with 16 red rays of light coming from it. 

During the 19th Century, the rising sun flag became the symbol of the military as Japan’s imperialism expanded when it occupied Korea and part of China.  

During the Second World War, the rising sun flag became the symbol of the Japanese navy and gained its controversial reputation as the Japanese troops occupied much of Asia and carried out extreme violence and cruelty against local people. 

Today the flag is still used as Japan’s naval emblem with a slightly different design for the regular military. 

South Korea’s Strong Stance Against The Use Of The Flag 

In 1910, Japan occupied Korea as a colony. Japan’s economic exploitation and forced labour of hundreds of thousands of Koreans was used as an aid to the Japanese expansion of Asia.  

The regime also forced thousands of girls and young women into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers before and during the Second World War. Aside from Korean victims, the Japanese army also forced girls from Taiwan, China and the Philippines into the brothels.

Many South Koreans associate the rising sun flag with a long list of war crimes and oppression. Therefore, for South Koreans, the continued use of the flag is seen as demonstration of Japan’s failure to address its past of imperialism and militarism. 

The South Korean analyst of The Council on Foreign Relations, Ellen Swicord explains that “the flag is one thread in a tapestry of other South Korean complaints regarding Japan’s perceived inability or unwillingness to accept responsibility for colonial transgressions.”

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism linked the flag to the  Nazi swastika, as it is representative of the historic scars and pain for Korean people just as the swastika reminds Europeans of the horrors of the Second World War. 

Embracing the flag encourages the belief, of some, that Japan should take pride in their military history including its atrocities. However, unlike the Nazi swastika, the rising sun flag symbol is legally guarded under Japan’s freedom of speech laws despite its causation of international harm.  

Japan’s Denial  

Despite the pressure from South Korea, there has been no compromise from Japan so far.

The rising sun flag may be little known in Europe and the US, however, it has been used as a traditional national symbol of Japan for centuries and is also featured on multiple Japanese imported goods.  

Yet with the long history of the flag, the Foreign Ministry of Japan explained that “the design of the rising sun flag is widely used throughout Japan, such as ‘good catch’ flags used by fishermen, celebratory flags for childbirth and seasonal festivals and flags of Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force vessels [...] claims that the flag is an expression of political assertions or symbol of militarism are absolutely false.” Therefore, the organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics claim that the flag should not be banned. 

Nevertheless, many critics highlight that the statement overlooks any references to the flag’s role during the Second World War. 

Harrison Kim, Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii, claims that ‘the current Japanese government is letting extreme nationalism to carry on and is tacitly supporting its expression’.

He also adds that the Japanese government has not implemented a permanent way of memorialising and apologising for its imperial crimes not in law, education and culture. 

By Amy Lee