The government argues that the law was needed because Japan already criminalised damaging foreign flags but had no equivalent rules covering its own.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The Japanese flag flutters in the wind from the top of the Bank of Japan headquarters in central Tokyo. A new law criminalises the ...

Japan enacted a law on Friday that criminalises damaging the national flag, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushes forward with her conservative agenda despite worries over freedom of expression. The ...