A Japanese fan holds a rising sun flag on a street in Tokyo's Shibuya district on Tuesday to celebrate Japan's group-stage match against the Netherlands at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. [AFP]
A Japanese fan holds a rising sun flag on a street in Tokyo's Shibuya district on Tuesday to celebrate Japan's group-stage match against the Netherlands at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. [AFP]

As the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games opened Saturday with a ceremony beginning at 6 p.m., calls emerged to prevent Japanese fans from displaying the rising sun flag at the event.

On the day of the opening ceremony, Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, warned on his SNS account that rising sun flag displays at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games were "a major concern."

"The rising sun flag was flown at the forefront of Japan's invasions of Asian nations, including during the Pacific War, and is a symbol of militarism and imperialism," Seo said. "Yet Japan has repeatedly displayed the rising sun flag at international sporting events, causing significant controversy each time."

He went on to cite rising sun flag displays by Japanese supporters at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, as well as during the road cycling event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Such incidents have continued on the international sports stage in recent months. At the 2026 World Cup group-stage match between Japan and Tunisia held in Monterrey, Mexico, in June, the rising sun flag appeared in the Japanese supporters' section and drew controversy. Earlier, at the 2026 World Baseball Classic game between South Korea and Japan held at Tokyo Dome in March, Japanese spectators were also photographed displaying the flag.

Seo urged anyone who spots the rising sun flag at the Asian Games — whether at the venue or on broadcast footage — to report it to him through his SNS account.

"I will use it as an opportunity to alert major media outlets around the world and inform international sports fans unfamiliar with the history of the rising sun flag about the problems with its use," he said. "If global public opinion takes shape, we will surely be able to stop rising sun flag displays."


balme@heraldcorp.com