Is flag burning illegal in Japan?
Only foreign flags protected
Only desecration of foreign flags is illegal in Japan, while the Japanese flag itself is constitutionally protected.
Japan is one of 3 countries classified “Only foreign flags protected” for flag desecration — 4% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Flag desecration
- Last checked
- 7 July 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 South Korean law punishes flag desecration with imprisonment up to two years.
- Taiwan
- Criminal offense Taiwan criminalizes insulting national flags or emblems with penalties up to one year imprisonment.
- Hong Kong
- Criminal offense Flag desecration is illegal in Hong Kong, with convictions and prison sentences for such acts.
- Philippines
- Criminal offense It is illegal to mutilate, deface, or insult the flag with penalties including fines and imprisonment.
- China
- Criminal offense Flag desecration is illegal in China with imprisonment terms of up to 3 years.
- Malaysia
- Criminal offense Flag desecration is illegal in Malaysia under the Penal Code, Sedition Act, and Emblems & Names Act.
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.