The dispute once again illustrates the extent to which history plagues modern Japan-South Korea relations.
Japan withdrew from an international fleet review hosted by South Korea after Tokyo refused to accept Seoul’s demands not to hoist the “rising sun” flag. The episode reflects another flare-up in the bilateral relationship related to wartime history, even as leaders on both sides have attempted to improve ties this year.
A ship from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was due to participate in the fleet review on South Korea’s southern island of Jeju. Overall, the event from October 10 to 14 was expected to attract warships from about a dozen countries, including from the United States and Russia.
The host country asked the JMSDF to refrain from flying the “rising sun” flag, which is viewed on the Korean Peninsula as a symbol of Japan’s imperialistic past. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Instead, South Korea encouraged the participating countries to display their national flags plus the South Korean flag. Japan’s national flag features a simple red sun on a plain white background.
But Japanese officials, including the then-defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, had insisted that the rising sun was the country’s recognized naval ensign and that it should be displayed.
Onodera, speaking a few days before he was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle on October 2, said: “As we are required to hoist the ensign of self-defense in accordance with domestic laws, and deem that this ensign corresponds with the external markers that indicate the nationality of a ship that belongs to the military force of a country under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, we will, of course, hoist the ensign of self-defense.”
In his press conference, Onodera added that the design was “used widely in Japan as a flag used by fishermen to indicate a good fishing haul as well as to celebrate births and seasonal festivals.
