Controversy Over Japan Olympic Golf Team Uniform Featuring Design Resembling Rising Sun Flag

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Suspicion has been raised that the uniforms of the Japanese national team participating in the golf event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were designed to resemble the Rising Sun Flag. In the Olympics, where political symbols are strictly prohibited, the fact that the host country's national team uniforms are shaped like the Rising Sun Flag is expected to intensify the controversy.

According to the uniform attire revealed on the Japan Golf Association's website on the 1st, the design includes stripes tilted at a 45-degree angle, and the stripes are red in color.

Michiko Hattori, the women's team coach, explained the uniform design as "based on tilted stripes representing the image of Japan's rising sun," according to the Japan Golf Association.

The Japanese golf team's explanation makes the uniform design reminiscent of the rising sun depicted on the Rising Sun Flag. The Rising Sun Flag also features tilted stripes radiating outward around a red circle to emphasize the rising sun.

The Rising Sun Flag was previously displayed during victory parades after defeating enemies or used as a symbol of occupation at the front lines during early 20th-century Japanese imperialism. Countries that suffered under Japan's imperialist policies regard the Rising Sun Flag as a symbol of militarism.

The Japanese government has maintained that the Rising Sun Flag design is used domestically as a good catch flag, for childbirth and holiday celebrations, and has argued that "claims that it is a political statement or a symbol of militarism are completely unfounded."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.