Editing Flag of Japan (section)

===Since 1999===
[[File:国旗及び国歌に関する法律.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A page with Asian characters and a black-and-white version of the Japanese flag left above|The ''Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem'' as it appears in the Official Gazette on 13 August 1999]]

The ''[[Act on National Flag and Anthem (Japan)|Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem]]'' was passed in 1999, choosing both the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} and {{transliteration|ja|Kimigayo}} as Japan's national symbols. The passage of the law stemmed from the suicide of the principal of [[:ja:広島県立世羅高等学校|Sera High School]] in [[Sera, Hiroshima|Sera]], [[Hiroshima Prefecture|Hiroshima]], Toshihiro Ishikawa, who could not resolve a dispute between his school board and his teachers over the use of the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} and {{transliteration|ja|Kimigayo}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Aspinall|2001|p=126}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{vcite news | title = Vote in Japan Backs Flag and Ode as Symbols | date = 23 July 1999 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/23/world/vote-in-japan-backs-flag-and-ode-as-symbols.html | work = The New York Times | access-date = 13 October 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130601063502/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/23/world/vote-in-japan-backs-flag-and-ode-as-symbols.html | archive-date = 1 June 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> The Act is one of the most controversial laws passed by the [[Diet of Japan|Diet]] since the 1992 "Law Concerning Cooperation for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other Operations", also known as the "International Peace Cooperation Law".<ref name="Williams">{{harvnb|Williams|2006|p=91}}</ref>

[[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Keizō Obuchi]] of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] (LDP) decided to draft legislation to make the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} and {{transliteration|ja|Kimigayo}} official symbols of Japan in 2000. His [[Chief Cabinet Secretary]], [[Hiromu Nonaka]], wanted the legislation to be completed by the 10th anniversary of Emperor [[Akihito]]'s [[Enthronement of the Japanese Emperor|enthronement]].<ref name="Itoh 2003 209–210">{{Harvnb|Itoh|2003|pp=209–210}}</ref> This is not the first time legislation was considered for establishing both symbols as official. In 1974, with the backdrop of the 1972 return of Okinawa to Japan and the [[1973 oil crisis]], Prime Minister [[Kakuei Tanaka]] hinted at a law being passed enshrining both symbols in the law of Japan.<ref name='Goodman82-83'>{{harvnb|Goodman, Neary|1996|pp=82–83}}</ref> In addition to instructing the schools to teach and play {{transliteration|ja|Kimigayo}}, Tanaka wanted students to raise the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} flag in a ceremony every morning, and to adopt a moral curriculum based on certain elements of the [[Imperial Rescript on Education]] pronounced by the [[Meiji Emperor]] in 1890.<ref>{{vcite news | title = Education: Tanaka v. the Teachers | date = 17 June 1974 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879332-1,00.html | work = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | access-date = 13 October 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110623055527/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879332-1,00.html | archive-date = 23 June 2011 }}</ref> Tanaka was unsuccessful in passing the law through the Diet that year.<ref>{{harvnb|Okano|1999|p=237}}</ref>

The main supporters of the bill were the LDP and the [[Komeito]] (CGP), while the opposition included the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDPJ) and [[Japanese Communist Party|Communist Party]] (JCP), who cited the connotations both symbols had with the war era. The CPJ was further opposed for not allowing the issue to be decided by the public. Meanwhile, the [[Democratic Party of Japan]] (DPJ) could not develop party consensus on it. DPJ President and future prime minister [[Naoto Kan]] stated that the DPJ must support the bill because the party already recognized both symbols as the symbols of Japan.<ref>{{vcite web |url=http://archive.dpj.or.jp/news/?num=11044 |title=国旗国歌法制化についての民主党の考え方 |access-date=17 January 2010 |date=21 July 1999 |publisher=Democratic Party of Japan |trans_title=The DPJ Asks For A Talk About the Flag and Anthem Law |language=Japanese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708111200/http://archive.dpj.or.jp/news/?num=11044 |archive-date=8 July 2013 }}</ref> Deputy Secretary General and future prime minister [[Yukio Hatoyama]] thought that this bill would cause further divisions among society and the public schools. Hatoyama voted for the bill while Kan voted against it.<ref name="Itoh 2003 209–210" />

Before the vote, there were calls for the bills to be separated at the Diet. [[Waseda University]] professor Norihiro Kato stated that {{transliteration|ja|Kimigayo}} is a separate issue more complex than the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} flag.<ref>{{vcite book | last1 = Calichman | first1 = Richard | title = Contemporary Japanese Thought | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2005 | page = 211 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8Paxm86ONwC&dq=kimigayo&pg=PA211 | access-date = 14 October 2010 | isbn = 978-0-231-13620-4 }} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240813023044/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8Paxm86ONwC&dq=kimigayo&pg=PA211#v=onepage&q=kimigayo&f=false |date=13 August 2024 }}</ref> Attempts to designate only the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} as the national flag by the DPJ and other parties during the vote of the bill were rejected by the Diet.<ref>{{vcite web |url=http://archive.dpj.or.jp/news/?num=8506 |title=国旗・国歌法案、衆院で可決 民主党は自主投票 |access-date=18 January 2010 |trans_title=Flag and Anthem Law Passed by the House, DPJ Free Vote |date=22 July 1999 |publisher=Democratic Party of Japan |language=Japanese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019105928/http://archive.dpj.or.jp/news/?num=8506 |archive-date=19 October 2013 }}</ref> The House of Representatives passed the bill on 22 July 1999, by a 403 to 86 vote.<ref>{{vcite web |url=http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/145/0001/14507220001047c.html |title=第１４５回国会 本会議 第４７号 |access-date=17 January 2010 |date=22 July 1999 |publisher=National Diet Library |language=Japanese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714043020/http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/145/0001/14507220001047c.html |archive-date=14 July 2012 }}</ref> The legislation was sent to the House of Councilors on 28 July and was passed on 9 August. It was enacted into law on 13 August.<ref>{{vcite web|url=http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_gian.nsf/html/gian/keika/1CE3AB6.htm |title=議案審議経過情報: 国旗及び国歌に関する法律案 |access-date=17 January 2010 |date=13 August 1999 |publisher=House of Representatives |language=Japanese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323180056/http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_gian.nsf/html/gian/keika/1CE3AB6.htm |archive-date=23 March 2011 |df= }}</ref>

On 8 August 2009, a photograph was taken at a DPJ rally for the [[2009 Japanese general election|House of Representatives election]] showing a banner that was hanging from a ceiling. The banner was made of two {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} flags cut and sewn together to form the shape of the DPJ logo. This infuriated the LDP and Prime Minister [[Tarō Asō]], saying this act was unforgivable. In response, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama (who voted for the Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem)<ref name="Itoh 2003 209–210" /> said that the banner was not the {{transliteration|ja|Hinomaru}} and should not be regarded as such.<ref name='dpjrally'>{{vcite news | title=【日本の議論】日の丸裁断による民主党旗問題 国旗の侮辱行為への罰則は是か非か | trans_title=(Japan) Discussion of penalties of acts of contempt against the Hinomaru by the DPJ | date=30 August 2009 | publisher=Sankei Digital | url=http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/trend/090830/trd0908301601006-n1.htm | work=Sankei Shimbun | access-date=6 September 2009 | language=Japanese | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902084654/http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/trend/090830/trd0908301601006-n1.htm | archive-date=2 September 2009 | df= }}</ref>