Japan Lower House Begins Discussions on Flag Vandalism Bill

Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Substantive discussions started on a bill to criminalize the act of damaging the national flag, at Japan's House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The Cabinet Committee of the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, heard an explanation about the bill's purpose and held a question and answer session.

Criminalizing national flag vandalism could violate freedom of thought and conscience guaranteed by the Constitution, said Takeshi Shina, secretary-general of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance.

Defending the bill, Akihisa Shiozaki of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said, "It's not intended to penalize thoughts or sentiments."

The bill is among the measures the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party plan to enact during the current special Diet session under their deal to form a ruling coalition, concluded last October. It was jointly submitted by the ruling parties and the opposition forces of the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]