Japan's LDP Seeks to Penalize National Flag Vandalism Videos

Tokyo, May 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday presented a draft outline of a bill that calls for punishing not only public vandalism of the Japanese national flag but also the posting on social media of videos and images showing such acts.

After discussing the draft outline at a meeting of its project team, the LDP stopped short of approving it due to a number of cautious opinions from attendees, mainly related to concerns over freedom of expression.

The outline also calls for imposing penalties of up to two years in prison or fines of up to 200,000 yen for individuals who publicly damage the flag.

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who chairs the team, told the meeting that the draft was compiled "with careful consideration for the freedom of thought, conscience, and expression."

Still, former Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that the planned legislation would lead to "excessive regulation" and intimidate the public. Shoji Nishida, an LDP member of the House of Councillors, expressed opposition to imposing penalties.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]