Â鶹´«Ã½

Tag - hinomaru

 
Â鶹´«Ã½
Search
 
August 13, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

HINOMARU

A fan holds Japanese flags at a public viewing in Tokyo for a 2026 World Cup match in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2026
Upper House passes flag-desecration bill despite constitutional concerns
The law, to take effect in August, will punish anyone who publicly damages, removes or defaces the flag in a way deemed likely to cause ¡°extreme discomfort or disgust to others.¡±
The House of Councilors
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2026
Nearly 150 Japanese academics oppose bill banning national flag desecration
The legislation faces significant pushback among opposition parties who say it violates a constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The bill stipulates that imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to ?200,000 be imposed on acts that publicly damage the national flag.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
LDP¡¯s flag desecration bill clears Lower House
Under the bill, desecrating the flag is punishable by up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of up to ?200,000.
Lawmakers who proposed a bill banning the desecration of the national flag bow as the bill was approved at a meeting of the Lower House Cabinet Committee on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2026
Lower House committee approves flag bill in appeal to conservatives
The proposed law would prohibit publicly damaging, removing or defacing the national flag in a way that ¡°causes extreme discomfort or disgust to others.¡±
A bill to criminalize the act of damaging the national flag is among the measures the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party plan to enact during the current special Diet session under their deal to form a ruling coalition.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2026
Lower House begins discussions on flag-vandalism bill
Under the bill, those who publicly deface the flag in a way that causes the public to feel extremely uncomfortable or disgusted would be subject to imprisonment or a fine.
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki speaks during a news conference at the Diet building in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Japan set to enact bill criminalizing vandalism of the national flag
Backing from the opposition Democratic Party for the People paves the way for the bill¡¯s passage through the Upper House, where the ruling bloc is a minority force.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, attends a party general council meeting at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 10, 2026
LDP and DPP to discuss bill to criminalize national flag vandalism
The Democratic Party for the People aims ¡°to clarify what constitutes a crime¡±
A push by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party to criminalize the desecration of the national flag is reviving a long-running debate over the limits of political expression.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2026
LDP¡¯s flag desecration bill rekindles debate over limits of expression
Advocates say the measure is meant to address a legal gap but critics argue the bill¡¯s language is ¡°extremely vague.¡±
Criminalizing flag vandalism is a key policy goal of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and was included in the coalition agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 2, 2026
LDP approves bill criminalizing vandalism of national flag
Criminalizing flag vandalism is a key policy goal of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
A Japanese national flag outside the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo last July.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2026
LDP OKs draft bill to punish national flag vandalism
The draft calls for penalties of up to two years in prison or fines of as much as ?200,000 for acts of vandalism that cause ¡°extreme discomfort or disgust.¡±
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has presented a draft bill proposing penalties for both public vandalism of the Japanese national flag and the posting of related videos and images on social media, but it withheld approval amid concerns over freedom of expression.
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2026
LDP seeks to penalize sharing national flag vandalism online
The outline also calls for?penalties of up to two years in prison or fines of up to ?200,000 for individuals who publicly damage the flag.
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno (left) addresses a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party's project team as it discusses making damaging the national flag a crime, at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 1, 2026
LDP divided over move to criminalize desecration of Â鶹´«Ã½ flag, sought by JIP
While some party members have called for a bill to be enacted during the current session of parliament, others express concern over freedom of expression.
Â鶹´«Ã½ newly convened special session of the Diet is set to debate legislation criminalizing damage to the national flag, strongly backed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the opposition party Sanseito.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2026
Parliamentary debate grows over move to criminalize flag desecration
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed a strong desire to enact a flag desecration ban, which is also supported by the?opposition party Sanseito.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center right) and others submit a bill to revise the Penal Code to House of Councilors Secretary-General Fumitake Kobayashi (center left) at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2025
Sanseito submits bill to punish desecrating the Japanese flag
While damaging or defacing a foreign national flag with the intent to insult can result in imprisonment or a fine, there is no similar provision for the Japanese flag.
Though some in the country rejected their wartime associations, the Japanese government made the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem official 25 years ago.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Aug 1, 2024
Japan Times 1999: Flag, anthem now official
After some controversy, the Hinomaru flag was made official alongside the country¡¯s national anthem, ¡°Kimigayo.¡±
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 29, 2019
Imperial swindle: Scammers reportedly handing out Japanese flags and then asking for money
Reports of con artists across Japan taking advantage of the celebratory mood ahead of this week¡¯s Imperial succession have caused a stir on social media.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 23, 2018
Taxi! Tokyo prepares for Olympic tourism boom with accessible cabs and international drivers
Tokyo¡¯s taxi industry is undergoing some radical changes as Japan, already dealing with unprecedented levels of tourism, gears up to host two major sporting events in the next 26 months.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2017
Nursery schools should encourage familiarity with Â鶹´«Ã½ national flag and anthem: guidelines
Children over the age of 3 should be ¡°familiar¡± with the national flag and anthem, according to draft new guidelines for operating public and private nursery schools.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2013
Censorship by education boards
It is extremely regrettable that boards of education are actively censoring history textbooks that have been approved by the ministry of education.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2013
Texts that say teachers told to obey axed
The Tokyo board of education has labeled two history textbooks by Jikkyo Shuppan Co. as inappropriate for public high schools because they state some local governments are forcing teachers to sing the national anthem and display the Hinomaru flag.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER