Act on National Flag and Anthem

Act on National Flag and Anthem 国旗及び国歌に関する法律
As published in the Official Gazette (August 15, 1999)
Ratified	August 13, 1999
Location	Japan
Purpose	To ratify the national flag and anthem of Japan

The Act on National Flag and Anthem (国旗及び国歌に関する法律, Kokki Oyobi Kokka ni Kansuru Hōritsu) (abbreviated as 国旗国歌法) is a law that formally established Japan's national flag and anthem. Before the ratification of the law on August 13, 1999, there was no official flag or anthem that represented Japan. From 1870, the Nisshōki (日章旗) flag, also referred to as the Hinomaru (日の丸), was used in various capacities to represent Japan; Kimigayo (君が代) was used as Japan's de facto anthem since 1880.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, there were suggestions to legislate both the Hinomaru and Kimgayo as the official symbols of Japan. However, due to the symbols' connection with the militaristic past of Japan, a law to make both symbols official in 1974 failed to gain a majority in the Diet. After a school principal in Hiroshima committed suicide over a dispute about the symbols, it was suggested that both symbols be made official in 1999. After a vote in both houses of the Diet, the law was passed on August 9, 1999. Promulgated and enforced on August 13, 1999, it was considered one of the most controversial laws passed by the Diet since 1990. The law itself and the debate surrounding it also revealed a split in the leadership of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan and the party discipline of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and collation partners.

The passage of the law was met with mixed feelings in Japan and abroad. While some Japanese hailed the passage of the law as a step toward the future, others felt that it was a shift toward restoring nationalistic feelings and education. In the countries occupied by Japan in World War II, some felt that the passage of the law, along with debates on laws related to military affairs and Yasukuni Shrine, was a shift toward the right of the political spectrum. Other nations felt that the adoption of national symbols was an internal affair and every nation, including Japan, has the right to choose its own symbols.

Text of the Act

The Act on National Flag and Anthem established the Nisshōki as the national flag and the song Kimigayo as the national anthem. Details about each symbol were provided in appendices of the law, including specifications like the construction of the flag and sheet music of Kimigayo. The law made no provisions for the use or respect of either symbol, leading to different national and prefectural agencies and ministries formulating their own regulations. The rules for the symbols' uses were not specified because with the rules, the bill would not have gained sufficient support in the Diet to pass.

Provisions for the flag

Construction sheet

Main article: Flag of Japan § Design

The drawing and construction details of the flag are given in the first appendix. The overall ratio of the flag is two units length to three units width (2:3). The red disc is at the exact center of the flag and has a diameter three-fifths of the flag's length. The flag formerly had a ratio of seven to ten units (7:10), with the red disc off-center by one-hundredth of the flag's length toward the side of the hoist. However, the law did allow the continued use and manufacture of flags with the 1870 proportions. The background of the flag is white, and the sun disc is red, but the exact color shades were not defined in the 1999 law, which merely stated it is a deep shade. Documents published by various government ministries provided different shades of red for the flag.

Provisions for the anthem

The lyrics and musical notation of the anthem are given in the second appendix. The text of the law does not credit a single person for the lyrics or music, but the musical notation credits Hiromori Hayashi for the musical arrangement. However, evidence suggests that it was Yoshiisa Oku and Akimori Hayashi (son of Hiromori) who authored the music; Hiromori had put his name on it in his capacities as their supervisor and Chief Court Musician of the Imperial Court. The song was eventually put to a Western-style melody by Franz Eckert and has been in use since 1880. The lyrics on the sheet music are in hiragana, and the vocal arrangement has no mention of tempo. The anthem is played C major in common (4/4) time.

Hinomaru and Kimigayo before 1999

The Hinomaru was widely used on military banners in the Sengoku period of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Meiji Restoration, on February 27, 1870 (January 27, Meiji 3 in the Japanese calendar), the flag was officially adopted as the civil ensign by Proclamation No. 57. Use of the Hinomaru was severely restricted during the early years of the American occupation of the country after World War II, although restrictions were later relaxed. Japanese law did not designate any particular flag as the national flag from 1885 until 1999, although the Hinomaru was legally the national flag for a brief period from 1870 until 1885. Despite this, several military banners of Japan are based on the design of the Hinomaru, including the sun-rayed Naval Ensign. The Hinomaru was used as a template to design other Japanese flags.

Kimigayo is currently one of the world's shortest national anthems, with a length of 11 measures and 32 characters. Its lyrics are based on a Waka poem written in the Heian period (794–1185) and sung to a melody written in the later Meiji period. The current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed 11 years earlier. During the American occupation of Japan, there were no directives by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers to restrict the use of Kimigayo by the Japanese government. However, only the score of Kimigayo was played during official ceremonies following the war; the lyrics were not sung.

Background of the legislation

The proposal for the law was motivated by the suicide of a school principal in Hiroshima who could not resolve a dispute between his school board and his teachers over the use of the Hinomaru and Kimigayo. The principal of Sera High School in Sera, Ishikawa Toshihiro, killed himself the evening before his school's graduation ceremony. The Hiroshima Prefecture School Board had demanded that all principals ensure the use of both symbols at every school ceremony, but the teachers at Sera High School were vehement in their opposition to the use of the symbols. Failing to win their support, Toshihiro saw no other option but to take his own life. Toshihiro's suicide induced Prime minister Keizo Obuchi of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to draft the legislation for making the Hinomaru and Kimigayo official symbols of Japan. He intended the law to be introduced in 2000, but his Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hiromu Nonaka, wanted it in effect by November 1999, the 10th anniversary of the coronation of Akihito as Emperor.

Pre-1999 attempts

The suggestion for such a law was not a new concept. After the return of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 and the global oil crisis in 1973, Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei hinted in 1974 at the passage of a law that would legalize the use of both symbols in Japanese society. At the time of his suggestion, the Japan Teachers Union was in direct opposition to using the anthem because it "[smacked] of emperor worship" and was connected to pre-war militarism. Although the literacy rate in Japan was 99%, many students did not know what Kimigayo was or how to sing it. Aside from instructing the schools to teach and play Kimigayo, Kakuei wanted students to raise the Hinomaru flag and read the Imperial Rescript on Education, which was pronounced by the Meiji Emperor in 1890, every morning. Kakuei tried to pass the law through the Diet that year but failed to obtain a majority.

Party positions

The main conservative parties of Japan, the LDP and the Liberal Party, were the chief supporters of the bill. LDP General Secretary and future prime minister Yoshiro Mori stated in June 1999 that the Japanese people have accepted both the Hinomaru and Kimigayo as the national flag and anthem, respectively. President of the Liberal Party Ichiro Ozawa echoed the same sentiment and believed that the Diet could not conclude otherwise. The New Komeito (also known as the Clean Government Party, CGP) was initially cautious about the bill. While some of its leadership conceded that both symbols were accepted by the people, they believed that establishing the idea as a law could be a violation of the Japanese Constitution. The CGP eventually decided to support the bill.

The Social Democratic Party (SDPJ) and Communist Party (CPJ) were opposed to the bill because of the connotations both symbols have with the war era and because the public was not allowed to decide the issue. The chairman of the CPJ said that while they do not object to the concept of a national flag or national anthem, new symbols that represent a democratic and peaceful Japan should be created. The SDPJ's opposition was a change from its previous stance toward the symbols; Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama of the Socialist Party of Japan (former name of the SDPJ) accepted both the Hinomaru and Kimigayo as the symbols of Japan in exchange for support from the LDP in the Diet in 1994.

President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Naoto Kan stated that the DPJ must support the bill because the party had already recognized both symbols as those of Japan. Deputy Secretary General and future prime minister Yukio Hatoyama believed that the bill would cause further divisions among society and the public schools. The DPJ decided to offer an amendment to the bill which designated the Hinomaru as the national flag but gave Kimigayo no special status. An alternative anthem was to be found. On July 16, it was decided that the DPJ would issue their amendment; if it was rejected, the party members would be allowed to vote freely. Other groups also issued their own bills against the government's legislation; they were all rejected before the main vote on the bill.

Public opinion

In the week prior to the vote in the House of Councillors, a poll was conducted by The Japan Times in the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima. Approximately nine out of ten respondents favored having the Hinomaru as the national flag while six out of ten supported Kimigayo as the national anthem. Overall, about 46% of the population were in favor of the bill. Respondents believe that the Hinomaru is the flag of Japan and that the history behind the flag should be taught. Some felt that Kimigayo was not an appropriate song to be used in modern Japan; one respondent suggested for the song Sakura Sakura to be used instead. Another suggestion was to leave the melody of Kimigayo intact but to replace the lyrics.

The poll by The Japan Times yielded different results from the March 1999 poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun and the July 1999 one by the Japan Research Council on Public Opinion Polls. In the poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun, taken after the suicide of Toshihiro, 61% felt that the symbols of Japan should be the Hinomaru as the flag and Kimigayo as the anthem. 64% felt it desirable to have both symbols used at school ceremonies, and 68% felt both symbols should be made official by law. The poll by the Japan Research Council on Public Opinion Polls showed similar results—68% felt that both the Hinomaru and Kimigayo are the symbols of Japan, and 71% supported the bill in the Diet. Both polls had slightly less than 2,000 respondents. There was 15% more support for the Hinomaru than for Kimigayo, which was directly associated with the emperor. Both polls also showed that older generations had a greater attachment to the symbols while younger generations exhibited more negative feelings.

Vote

The House of Representatives passed the bill on July 22, 1999, by a 403-to-86 vote. The legislation was sent to the House of Councilors on July 28 and was passed on August 9 by a 166-to-71 vote. It was enacted as law on August 13.

House of Representatives vote Party In favor Oppose Abstain Not present Total Democratic Party of Japan 45 46 0 1 92 Liberal Democratic Party of Japan 260 0 0 0 260 Komeito 52 0 0 0 52 Liberal Party 38 0 0 1 39 Communist Party 0 26 0 0 26 Socialist Party 0 14 0 0 14 Independents 8 0 0 8 16 Totals 403 86 0 10 499

House of Councilors vote Party In favor Oppose Abstain Not present Total Democratic Party of Japan 20 31 5 0 56 Liberal Democratic Party of Japan 101 0 0 0 101 Komeito 24 0 0 0 24 Liberal Party 12 0 0 0 12 Communist Party 0 23 0 0 23 Socialist Party 0 13 0 0 13 Independents 9 4 0 9 22 Totals 166 71 5 9 251

Reactions

Obuchi was enthusiastic over the passage of the law because it established a "clear basis by written law" for the use of the symbols. According to him, this was one of Japan's biggest moves before the beginning of the 21st century. Emperor Akihito declined to comment on the law when asked at a press conference on his birthday (December 23). The head of a teachers' federation praised the legislation, believing that it would help them inculcate people with a proper sense of respect for a country's symbols, thereby reducing international incidents such as the booing of other countries' anthems by the Japanese. The legislation also drew condemnation from certain Japanese who were disdainful of their country's actions in World War II. They felt that unless their government issued a formal apology—expressed with "true remorse" —for those incidents, they saw no reason to be proud about the flag and anthem. Ozawa saw the passage of this law and a few others in 1999 as heralds of a "bloodless revolution" toward a new future, which would change Japan's national identity and set up changes to its Constitution.

Beyond Japan, the passage of the law was met with mixed reactions. In the People's Republic of China and South Korea, both of which had been occupied in the past by the Empire of Japan, the 1999 formal adoption of the Hinomaru and Kimigayo was met with the notion that Japan was moving toward the right of the political spectrum and toward re-militarization. The passage of the law also coincided with the debates about the status of the Yasukuni Shrine, US-Japan military cooperation and the creation of a missile defense. However, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the bill was an issue for the Japanese to resolve on their own to move their country toward a peaceful future. In Singapore, older generations harbored ill feelings toward the symbols while younger generations did not hold similar views. The Philippines government believed that Japan was not going to revert to militarism and that the goal of the law was to formally establish two national symbols (the flag and anthem), which every state has a right to do so.

Political ramifications

The split in DPJ's votes for the Act showed that the unity of its members was in tatters. The DPJ had allowed their elected members to cast their votes without care for the party line; the party leadership itself was split. Hatoyama, who first opposed the bill, decided to vote for it, along with DPJ Secretary General and former prime minister Tsutomu Hata. Kan, who eventually succeeded Hatoyama as prime minister in 2010, voted against the bill. With the exception of the DPJ, each party voted strictly along its party line, and none among them broke party discipline. Ironically, Hatoyama wanted to use his vote for the bill as a call to his fellow DPJ members for unity. Half of the DPJ supported the bill, reducing the numbers that would have opposed it and making it easy for the bill to pass.

Another factor that played into the passage of the bill was the coalition of the LDP, the Liberal Party and the CGP. In the Diet, the union between the LDP and the Liberal Party gave them a majority in the lower house but not in the House of Councilors. The leadership of the LDP considered Ozawa to be a traitor but needed him and his party to form a coalition in order to govern. Although the CGP had a relatively small number of seats (52) in the lower house and had nothing in common with the LDP in terms of policy, it was tempted by the idea of being part of the ruling cabinet and supported the LDP in passing the bill. The SDPJ had to abandon key party platforms, such as their earlier opposition to the symbols, security treaties with the United States and the existence of the Self Defense Forces, to be a part of the coalition. Despite the concessions of the SPDJ, the LDP focused on their own agendas and did not advance any of SDPJ's traditional platforms. Eventually, those policies advocated by the SPDJ were removed from the national policy debate. The only party that stuck to its stance throughout the entire debate was the CPJ; the CGP, Liberal Party and SDPJ switched sides to support the bill.

The vote switching led a writer for The Japan Times to question the rationality of the country's politics over the passage of this bill. The Act is one of the most controversial laws passed by the Diet since the 1992 "Law Concerning Cooperation for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other Operations", which is also known as the "International Peace Cooperation Law". The "International Peace Cooperation Law" was an act that committed Japan to United Nations peacekeeping operations; it was a deviation from Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which calls on the country to renounce the "use of force as means of settling international disputes."

References

Notes

Bibliography

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Legislation

• Government of Nara Prefecture. 明治3年太政官布告第57号 [Prime Minister's Proclamation No. 57]; 1870-02-27 [Retrieved 2010-02-06]. Japanese.
• Official Website of the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. Constitution of Japan; 1946-11-03 [Retrieved 2010-10-13].
• Government of Japan. 自衛隊法施行令 [Self-Defense Forces Law Enforcement Order]; 1954-06-30 [Retrieved 2008-01-25]. Japanese.
• Government of Japan. 国旗及び国歌に関する法律 (法律第百二十七号) [Act on National Flag and Anthem, Act No. 127]; 1999-08-13 [Retrieved 2010-02-06]. Japanese.
• Police of the Hokkaido Prefecture. 国旗及び国歌の取扱いについて [Regarding the Treatment of the National Flag and Anthem]; 1999-11-18 [Retrieved 2010-01-14]. Japanese.
• Police of Kanagawa Prefecture. 国旗及び県旗の取扱いについて [Regarding the Treatment of the National and Prefectural Flags] [PDF]; 2003-03-29 [Retrieved 2010-10-22]. Japanese.
• Ministry of Defense. 海上自衛隊旗章規則 [JMSDF Flag and Emblem Rules] [PDF]; 2008-03-25 [Retrieved 2009-09-25]. Japanese.

External links

• Legislation history Template:Ja icon
• Act on National Flag and Anthem Template:Ja icon