Japan’s Parliament on Friday banned the desecration of the national flag, part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s efforts to bolster patriotism and shift politics further to the right.
The legislature, known as the Diet, passed a law making it a crime to damage, remove or deface the Japanese flag in a way that provokes “strong discomfort or disgust” in others. Violators could face up to two years in prison or a fine of about $1,200 (200,000 yen).
The law was a central priority of Ms. Takaichi, a hard-line conservative who won election last year with nationalist calls to build a stronger and more assertive Japan, eight decades after World War II. Ms. Takaichi belongs to a faction of right-wing politicians that believes Japan has spent too much time apologizing for wartime atrocities instead of fostering a sense of national pride.
Ms. Takaichi has frequently highlighted the fact that it was illegal to deface foreign flags in Japan — but not to desecrate the country’s own.
“You might face imprisonment for defacing or tearing a foreign flag, yet you can treat the Japanese flag however you please,” she said earlier this year. “That doesn’t make sense.”
The rules put Japan in line with countries such as France, Germany, Italy and India, which also impose penalties for damaging the flag. The United States has long maintained that flag burning is permitted under the First Amendment, but President Trump has threatened to prosecute protesters who burn the American flag.
The new law in Japan has prompted an outpouring of criticism from opposition lawmakers, academics, artists, media companies and human rights activists, who say it runs counter to the ideals of free speech.
Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo, said that rather than instill patriotism, the law would turn the flag into a taboo. Citizens might be afraid to display or touch the flag now, he said, for fear of being punished.
“This is the first law in postwar Japan to try to attach a stigma and to criminalize criticism directed against the government,” he said in an interview. “It is fundamentally an illiberal law.”
The Tokyo Shimbun, a prominent newspaper, said in an editorial on Friday that the legislation had echoes of prewar laws that made it illegal to criticize the imperial family.
“Coercing patriotism by brandishing criminal penalties flagrantly violates the freedom of thought and conscience guaranteed by the Constitution and encourages mutual surveillance among the citizenry,” the editorial said.
Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group, called on the Japanese government on Friday to repeal the law, saying in a statement that it could be used as a “new tool to silence protests.”
Flag desecration is rare in Japan, and the country’s flag, which depicts the rising sun and is known as the hinomaru, has long been given special treatment. Unlike Germany and Italy, the other Axis powers in World War II, Japan did not change its flag after the war. Government officials are expected to bow to to the flag when they enter or leave a room.
It is unclear how aggressively the Japanese authorities will go after offenders. Lawmakers have cited actions like burning the flag, stomping on it or soiling it with mud, feces or urine as examples of desecration . Lawmakers said there could be some exceptions, including for flags placed as decorations in children’s meals or depictions in anime, manga or video games.
The legislation was backed by four parties, including Ms. Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan for all but four years since 1955. Another high-profile proponent of the law was Sanseito, a far-right populist party that has made striking gains over the past year.
Mizuho Umemura, a Sanseito lawmaker, spoke in support of the law on Friday, saying the Japanese public had for too long been forced to “endure whatever indignities are inflicted upon the hinomaru.”
“The right to freedom of expression must also be balanced against the sentiments of the many citizens who cherish the national flag,” she said in a speech on the floor of Parliament.
Ms. Takaichi, who clinched the biggest electoral victory in the L.D.P.’s 71-year history earlier this year, has been trying to push through her legislative priorities before Parliament goes on break in the coming days.
The legislature also passed a bill on Friday to allow the imperial family to adopt scores of distant male relatives — a move meant to help address the dwindling ranks of royals.
Ms. Takaichi, the first woman elected prime minister, said the bill was necessary to preserve the imperial family’s male-only lineage for emperors. But critics said that the government should instead allow women to reign as emperor, an idea embraced by a broad swath of the public, according to polls.
Hisako Ueno contributed reporting.
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