Editing Flag of Japan (section)

===Military flags===
{{See also|Rising Sun Flag}}
[[File:The Illustration of the Siberian War, No. 9, The Japanese army occupied Habalofsk (LOC ppmsca.08212).jpg|thumb|An illustration of the Japanese army occupying [[Khabarovsk]], 1920. Both {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} and the Rising Sun Flag (in background) are depicted.]]
The [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] (JSDF) and the [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force]] use the Rising Sun Flag with eight red rays extending outward, called {{nihongo||八条旭日旗|Hachijō-Kyokujitsuki}}. A gold border is situated partially around the edge.<ref name="law.e-gov">{{harvnb|自衛隊法施行令}}</ref>

A well-known variant of the sun disc design is the sun disc with 16 red rays in a [[Siemens star]] formation, which was also historically used by Japan's military, particularly the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] and the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. The ensign, known in Japanese as the {{nihongo||十六条旭日旗|Jyūrokujō-Kyokujitsuki}}, was first adopted as the [[war flag]] on 15 May 1870, and was used until the end of World War II in 1945. It was re-adopted on 30 June 1954, and is now used as the war flag and naval ensign of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] (JMSDF).<ref name="law.e-gov" /> [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|JSDF]] Chief of Staff [[Katsutoshi Kawano]] said the Rising Sun Flag is the Maritime Self-Defense Force sailors' "pride".<ref name="msdf-flag-pride">{{Cite news|url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201810060024.html|title=Japan to skip S. Korea fleet event over 'rising sun' flag|date=6 October 2018|work=The Asahi Shimbun|access-date=7 October 2018| language=en-US| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006141833/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201810060024.html | archive-date=6 October 2018 | url-status=live}}</ref> Due to its continued use by the Imperial Japanese Army, this flag carries the negative connotation similar to the Nazi flag in China and Korea.<ref name="xinhua060811">{{vcite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2006-08/11/content_4949629.htm |title=赵薇欲代言抗日网游洗刷"军旗装事件"之辱(图) |trans_title=Zhao Wei wishes to endorse the anti-Japanese gaming scrubbing |work=[[Xinhua]] |author=国际, 在线 |date=11 August 2006 |access-date=25 January 2008 |language=Chinese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080707051134/http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2006-08/11/content_4949629.htm |archive-date=7 July 2008 |df= }}</ref> These formerly colonized countries state that this flag is a symbol of Japanese imperialism during World War II, and was an ongoing conflict event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The JMSDF also employs the use of a [[masthead pennant]]. First adopted in 1914 and readopted in 1965, the masthead pennant contains a simplified version of the naval ensign at the hoist end, with the rest of the pennant colored white. The ratio of the pennant is between 1:40 and 1:90.<ref>{{Harvnb|海上自衛隊旗章規則}}</ref>

The [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]] (JASDF), established independently in 1952, has only the plain sun disc as its emblem.<ref>{{Harvnb|〇海上自衛隊の使用する航空機の分類等及び塗粧標準等に 関する達}}</ref> This is the only branch of service with an emblem that does not invoke the rayed Imperial Standard. However, the branch does have an [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] to fly on bases and during parades. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force flag was first adopted in 1955 after the JASDF was created in 1954. The flag is cobalt blue with a gold winged eagle on top of a combined star, the moon, the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} sun disc and clouds.<ref>{{Harvnb|自衛隊の旗に関する訓令}}</ref><ref>桜星の数はかつての陸上自衛隊と同様、階級ではなく部隊規模を示していた。</ref> The latest version of the JASDF flag was re-adopted on 19 March 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/jp^asdf.html |title=Air Self Defense Force (Japan) |website=CRW Flags |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315210107/https://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/jp%5Easdf.html |archive-date=15 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source|date=February 2025}}

Although not an official national flag, the [[Z flag|Z signal flag]] played a major role in Japanese naval history. On 27 May 1905, Admiral [[Tōgō Heihachirō|Heihachirō Tōgō]] of the {{transliteration|ja|[[Japanese battleship Mikasa|Mikasa]]}} was preparing to engage the [[Baltic Fleet|Russian Baltic Fleet]]. Before the [[Battle of Tsushima]] began, Togo raised the Z flag on the {{transliteration|ja|Mikasa}} and engaged the Russian fleet, winning the battle for Japan. The raising of the flag said to the crew the following: "The fate of Imperial Japan hangs on this one battle; all hands will exert themselves and do their best." The Z flag was also raised on the aircraft carrier {{transliteration|ja|[[Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi|Akagi]]}} on the eve of Japan's attack on [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], in December 1941.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=124}}</ref>

<gallery class="8" heights="180" widths="180">
File:War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army (1868-1945).svg|{{FIAV|001000}} {{FIAV|historical}} Pre-WWII [[Rising Sun Flag|war flag]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] (1868–1945) {{nihongo||十六条旭日旗}}
File:Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg|{{FIAV|000001}} {{FIAV|historical}} Pre-WWII flag of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] (1889–1945)
File:Flag of JSDF.svg|{{FIAV|001000}} {{FIAV|normal}} Post WWII flag of the [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force]] {{nihongo||八条旭日旗}}
File:Naval Ensign of Japan.svg|{{FIAV|000001}} {{FIAV|normal}} Post WWII flag of the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] (1954–present) {{nihongo||十六条旭日旗}}
File:Flag of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.svg|{{FIAV|normal}} Post WWII flag of the [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]] (JASDF)
File:Roundel of Japan (1943).svg|Pre-WWII [[roundel]] (military aircraft insignia) of Navy and Army military aircraft
File:Roundel of Japan.svg|Post WWII roundel of the JASDF
</gallery>