Overview
- On Tuesday the LDP approved a revised bill that removes criminal penalties for posting or distributing footage of flag damage on social media and planned to submit the measure to the Diet that afternoon.
- The draft makes it a crime to publicly damage, remove, or soil the national flag in ways that cause marked public discomfort or disgust, with penalties of up to two years imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥200,000.
- The Democratic Party for the People agreed to co-submit the narrower text after securing deletions seen as curbing excessive limits on constitutionally protected expression and said it will push for clear limits during Diet debate.
- Smaller parties such as Sanseitō asked to broaden the law to cover acts like waving a flag marked with an X at rallies, but the LDP deferred those demands and added a clause to reassess online measures three years after enforcement.
- With allied support in the House of Councillors the bill now has a strong chance of passing this Diet session, and critics warn that remaining vague language could still chill protest and online speech.