List of Japanese flags

· National flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 13 August 1999	Civil and state flag and ensign of Japan.	Flag ratio: 2:3. This flag was designated by Proclamation No. 127, 1999. The sun-disc is perfectly centered and is a brighter shade of red.
	27 February 1870 – 12 August 1999	Civil and state flag and ensign of the Empire of Japan, and the Japanese state.	Flag ratio: 7:10. Disc is shifted 1% towards the hoist (left). This flag was designated by Proclamation No. 57, 1870.

· Imperial flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 1869	Imperial standard of the emperor of Japan	A gold 16 petal chrysanthemum centered on a red background
	Since 2019	Imperial standard of the emperor emeritus	Similar to the standard of the emperor, but with a darker background
	Since 1926	Imperial standard of the empress, the empress dowager, the grand empress dowager and the empress emerita	A pennant of the standard of the emperor
		Imperial standard of the regent of Japan	Similar to the standard of the emperor, but with a white border
		Imperial standard of the heir imperial son and the imperial grandson who is an heir apparent	Similar to the standard of the emperor, but with a white orle
		Imperial standard of the wife of the heir imperial son and the wife of the imperial grandson	A pennant of the standard of the heir imperial son
	Since 2020	Imperial standard of the crown prince if not the son of the emperor	A gold 16-petaled chrysanthemum centered on a white background with a red orle and border
	Since 1926	Imperial standard of other members of the Imperial House	Similar to the standard of the crown prince, but without the red orle

· Governmental flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1872–1887	Ensign of Japan Post	Hinomaru with a red horizontal bar placed in the center of the flag.
	Since 1892	Ensign of Japan Customs	White represents land, blue represents sea, and the red disc represents the customs on a border.

· Military flags › Self-Defense Force and Imperial Army/Navy

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 1954	Flag of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force	A sun disc design with 8 red rays extending outward, and a gold border partially around the edge.
	1889–1945	Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy	Sun disc with 16 rays on a white field, with the disc skewed to the hoist.
	Since 1945	Ensign of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1955–1957	Former ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Used from 1955 to 1957.
	1957–1972		Used from 1957 to 1972.
	1972–2001		Used from 1972 to 2001.
	Since 2001	Ensign of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Current ensign, used since 2001.
	Since 1972	Standard of the prime minister of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a purple background.
		Naval standard of the prime minister of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a purple background.
		Standard of the minister of defense of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a magenta background.
		Naval standard of the minister of defense of Japan	Five cherry blossoms on a magenta background.
		Standard of the vice minister of defense of Japan	Four cherry blossoms on a magenta background.
		Naval standard of the vice minister of defense of Japan	Four cherry blossoms on a magenta background.
		Standard of Chief of Staff, Joint Staff
	Since 2025	Standard of Commander, Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command
	Since 2024	Standard of commander of joint unit
		Standard of Chief of Staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
		Standard of Chief of Staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	Since 1982	Standard of Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
	Since 1965	Standard of vice admiral of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
		Standard of rear admiral of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
		Standard of commodore of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
		Standards of commander of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

		Standard of senior captain of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	Since 1954	Masthead pennant of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
	1905–1945, Since 2011	The "Z flag", unofficial naval ensign	Derived from International maritime signal flag "Z" Made famous by its use to signal the opening of the Battle of Tsushima.
	1999–	Standard of the army commander of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force	Established in March 1999.
		Standard of the divisional commander of the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force	Army commander's flag until March 1999.
		Standard of the brigade commander of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force	The brigade commander's flag is the flag of the six brigades that were reorganized from the four divisions and two combined brigades, and newly established in March 1999.
			The brigade commander's flag is the flag of other brigades. It was used as a flag for divisional commanders until March 1999.
	Until 1999	Standard of the former brigade commander of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force	It was used until March 1999. This flag was used not only major general but also when the colonel was the brigade commander.
	Since 1972	Flag of infantry battalion of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
	1982–2001	Standard of lieutenant general of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Standard of the commander in chief of the air defense command of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force from 1982 until 2001.
	1982–2001	Standard of major general of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force	Standard of the air division commander of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force from 1982 until 2001.
	1980–	Flag of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force reserve
	1870–1945	War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army	Centered sun disc with 16 rays on a white field.
	1889–1945	Standard of admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	1914–1945	Standard of vice admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
		Standard of rear admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
		Standard of commodore of the Imperial Japanese Navy
		Standard of commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy
		Standard of senior captain of the Imperial Japanese Navy
	1870–1945	Standard of duty ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy

· Military flags › Japan Coast Guard

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1951–	Ensign of the Japan Coast Guard	The symbol represents a mariner's compass.
		Standard of the minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism
		Standard of the Japan Coast Guard commandant
		Standard of the commander of Regional Coast Guard Headquarters
		Flag of the commander

· Historical flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	13th–19th century	Military Flag of the warriors loyal to Japanese court.	A red field with a golden disc in the center and 3 fringes on the fly. In reality, it was hoisted vertically.
	1429–1879	Merchant Flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom.	A triangular yellow field with a red border and a red disc in the center.
	1641–1858	Dutch flag used in Dejima	A horizontal tricolor of red, white and blue.
	1603–1868	Naval ensign of the Tokugawa Shogunate.	A bicolour flag consisting of three bands; white, black, and white.
	1668–1869	Flag used by the Satsuma army during the Boshin War	A horizontal bicolour of red and white.
	1905–1910	Flag of the Resident General of Korea.	A blue ensign with the Flag of Japan in the canton.
	1945–1952	Civil and naval ensign during the occupation of Japan.	Derived from International maritime signal flag "E".
	1797–1879	Flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom.	Features a mitsudomoe, the symbol of the ruling Second Shō dynasty.
	1950 (Jan–Mar)	Proposed flag of Okinawa.	Called the Okinawan Flag (沖縄旗) or the Ryukyu Flag (琉球旗), proposed by the Okinawa Civil Government. The US administration stated they would decide the flag after the foundation of the unified government of the islands. However, the flag was forgotten ever since. Red, white, and blue represent peace, freedom, and enthusiasm, respectively. A star represents hope.
	1952–1967	Civil ensign during the occupation of Okinawa.	Derived from International maritime signal flag "D".
	1967–1972	Civil ensign of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands.	Ryukyus pennant above Japanese flag was used during U.S. occupation of Ryukyu Islands.

· Minorities

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	(1996) 1994–[citation needed]	Flag of Mindan	Flag of Mindan, a pro-South organization of Zainichi Koreans. The pink flower surrounding the taegeuk is a hibiscus syriacus, the national flower of South Korea. The formal name of the society (Zainihon Daikanminkoku Mindan) is written in kanji in white, and the abbreviation (Mindan) is written in hangul in yellow. The blue field of the flag stands for clear sky and sea.
	1923–1945[citation needed]	Flag of National Levelers Association / Buraku Liberation League	Flag of National Levelers Association, a burakumin rights group, and Buraku Liberation League, NLA's succeeding group. Named the Crown of Thorns Flag (荊冠旗, Keikanki). Black represents a dark society with discriminations. Red represents blood.
	1945–[citation needed]	Flag of Buraku Liberation League	The current Buraku Liberation League flag, with a white star representing hope.
	1973–[citation needed]	Flag of Ainu

· Cultural flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1919–	Flag of safety	Named the Green Cross (緑十字, Midori-jūji). Designed by Toshifumi Gamō as the symbol of the governmental "safety week" campaign. The cross represents philanthropism in Western sense, and the place where good deeds gather in Oriental sense. JIS Z9103-1986 designates the symbol as the safety indication sign.
	1953–	Flag of industrial health	Announced by the Labour Standards Bureau, the Ministry of Labor of Japan (the current Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), over a public subscription.
	1965–	Flag of safety and health	Designed by the Japan Industrial Safety & Health Association. These three flags are frequently flown on factories or construction sites.
	1887–	Postal flag	The Postal symbol, 〒, on a white field.

· Prefectural flags

Flag	Prefecture	Geocode
	Aichi	JP-23
	Akita	JP-05
	Aomori	JP-02
	Chiba	JP-12
	Ehime	JP-38
	Fukui	JP-18
	Fukuoka	JP-40
	Fukushima	JP-07
	Gifu	JP-21
	Gunma	JP-10
	Hiroshima	JP-34
	Hokkaido	JP-01
	Hyōgo	JP-28
	Ibaraki	JP-08
	Ishikawa	JP-17
	Iwate	JP-03
	Kagawa	JP-37
	Kagoshima	JP-46
	Kanagawa	JP-14
	Karafuto	N/A
	Kōchi	JP-39
	Kumamoto	JP-43
	Kyoto	JP-26
	Mie	JP-24
	Miyagi	JP-04
	Miyazaki	JP-45
	Nagano	JP-20
	Nagasaki	JP-42
	Nara	JP-29
	Niigata	JP-15
	ŌitaŌita	JP-44
	Okayama	JP-33
	Okinawa	JP-47
	Ōsaka	JP-27
	Saga	JP-41
	Saitama	JP-11
	Shiga	JP-25
	Shimane	JP-32
	Shizuoka	JP-22
	Tochigi	JP-09
	Tokushima	JP-36
	Tokyo	JP-13
	Tokyo	JP-13
	Tottori	JP-31
	Toyama	JP-16
	Wakayama	JP-30
	Yamagata	JP-06
	Yamaguchi	JP-35
	Yamanashi	JP-19

· Political flags

Current

Flag

Current

Former

Flag

Former

Other

Flag

Other

Flag	Date	Use	Description
Current
	Since 2017	Tomin First no Kai
	Since 1995	Ishin Seito Shimpu
	Since 1982	National Socialist Japanese Workers' Party
	Since 1972	Japanese Communist Party
	Since 1970	Kariyushi Club (Ryukyu Independence Movement)
	Since 1955	Liberal Democratic Party
	1923–1942Since 1946	Rikken Yoseikaija
Former
	2005–2013	People's New Party
	1960–1994	Democratic Socialist Party
	1945–1996	Japan Socialist Party
	1936–1944	Tōhōkai
Other
	1936	The Righteous Army	The four characters reading "Revere the Emperor, Destroy the Traitors" (尊皇討奸) are placed in the corners of a standard Japanese flag.

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References