Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is moving to establish a so-called "flag desecration crime" that would impose criminal penalties for damaging the country's national flag, the Hinomaru.
According to the Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday, the LDP held a project team executive meeting the previous day to discuss the new legislation and agreed to introduce criminal penalties for acts of desecrating the Hinomaru.
The party plans to finalize internal consultations soon, aiming to pass the related bill during the current ordinary session of the National Diet.
The introduction of penalties for flag desecration has long been a subject of debate in Japanese political circles. Supporters argue that "national symbols must be protected," while opponents have urged caution, saying such a law would "chill freedom of expression."
The LDP, however, is accelerating the legislative push, arguing that it is inconsistent for Japan's current Criminal Code to punish the desecration of foreign national flags while leaving the desecration of its own flag unpunished.
Under the Japanese Criminal Code, the "crime of damaging a foreign national emblem" stipulates that desecrating a foreign flag is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 200,000 yen (approximately 1.88 million won).
The LDP is reportedly considering setting penalties for the new flag desecration crime at a similar level, or at the level of the general property damage offense, which carries a maximum penalty of up to three years of imprisonment.
However, mindful of concerns over infringement on freedom of expression, the scope of punishment is being discussed carefully. The LDP project team is reviewing a plan that would not impose penalties based solely on subjective elements such as personal intent or motive, but rather target acts of flag desecration committed "in public places" or "in a manner that causes significant offense to others."
According to Kyodo News, the LDP is also discussing including in the scope of punishment the act of posting or transmitting videos of flag desecration on the internet or social networking services (SNS).
The LDP project team plans to hold additional meetings this week to focus on issues such as the scope of punishment for transmitting videos of flag desecration.
