Is flag burning illegal in Japan?
Criminal offense
Desecrating the national flag is a criminal offense under a newly enacted law.
Japan is one of 55 countries classified “Criminal offense” for flag desecration — 82% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Flag desecration
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- South Korea
- Criminal offense Desecrating the national flag is a criminal offense under the South Korean Criminal Act.
- Taiwan
- Criminal offense Insulting the national flag or emblem of any country is a criminal offense in Taiwan.
- Hong Kong
- Criminal offense Desecrating the national or regional flag is a criminal offense under local ordinances.
- Philippines
- Criminal offense Desecrating the flag is a prohibited act punishable by fine or imprisonment under the Flag and Heraldic Code.
- China
- Criminal offense Flag desecration is a crime in China.
- Malaysia
- Criminal offense Disrespecting the national flag can be prosecuted under existing penal and sedition laws.
Other laws in Japan
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Conversion Therapy
- No ban
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.