Thought It Was the Taegeukgi... Controversy Over Japan Football Ambassador Image

Taegeuk Pattern and Trigrams Resemble the Design on a White Background

The Japan Football Association (JFA) has come under controversy over an ambassador image created to promote the national team, with some claiming it closely resembles the Taegeukgi, the South Korean national flag.

According to the Sankei Shimbun on November 13, the Japan Football Association announced on November 10 that it had formed an official ambassador unit for the national team called "JI Blue," bringing together 12 members from the idol groups JO1 and INI who are known to be soccer enthusiasts. The association also released a poster image featuring these members.

The 'JI Blue' image released by the Japan Football Association on the 10th. Screenshot from the Japan Football Association website

In the image, the members are wearing blue Japan national football team jerseys. At the center of the white background is a red circle, reminiscent of the Japanese flag. On each of the four corners along the edges, there are three stripes resembling the Adidas logo, the manufacturer of the national team's uniforms.

However, after the image was released, Sankei reported that local online communities were filled with criticism and comments pointing out that the poster "reminds people of the Taegeukgi." The combination of the blue uniforms and the red circle appears similar to the Taegeuk pattern, and the four sets of black three stripes on the edges evoke the trigrams seen on the Taegeukgi.

Japan Football Association: "No Intent to Reference the Taegeukgi"

Some netizens commented, "The color scheme and layout of red, blue, and black are almost identical (to the Taegeukgi)," "It's strange for the Japanese national team to use a design that reminds people of a foreign flag," and "This looks like an advertisement for the Korean national team, not the Japanese team," expressing largely negative reactions.

In response, the Japan Football Association stated that it did not create the image with the Taegeukgi in mind. The association explained, "There was no intention to evoke the Taegeukgi when designing this image," and added, "This image was created using the same concept as the one released in March, which featured portraits of the Japanese national team coach and players."

In March, the Japan Football Association had released a similar image to celebrate the national team's qualification for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. However, unlike the current controversial image, the previous one featured a less prominent red circle and less noticeable stripes.