Nagoya AG organizers apologize for rising sun flag ban, then say ban was a mistake — critic calls it a 'trick'

The organizing committee for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has apologized after posting a sign at a baseball venue banning the Japanese rising sun flag, saying the notice was "inappropriate." Sungshin Women's University Professor Seo Kyoung-duk criticized the move as a "trick" to placate domestic opinion in Japan.

The committee posted a statement on its official website Monday titled "Apology for Inappropriate Posting at Baseball Venue," saying it was wrong to have displayed the notice during Saturday's game between Japan and Taiwan at Okazaki Central General Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture. The sign had read: "Items such as the rising sun flag and the Taiwan national flag cannot be brought in."

The committee said it maintains certain prohibitions for spectators to ensure smooth operations at the games, including a ban on "flying flags of countries not participating in the competition," but added: "Naturally, the rising sun flag is not subject to the ban — the sign was posted due to a mistaken understanding at the scene."

It added that it "sincerely apologizes for causing discomfort to spectators" and said it would remind staff at all venues of the proper handling of the rising sun flag to prevent a recurrence.

The sign had listed both the rising sun flag and the Taiwan flag as prohibited items. Taiwan is competing in the games under the name "Chinese Taipei," meaning the flag Taiwan ordinarily uses — the Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth flag — does not qualify as the flag of a participating nation. The controversy spread online and grew within Japan, prompting the committee to issue the apology two days after the game.

Seo wrote on Instagram Tuesday that the organizing committee had "stirred controversy by announcing it will allow the rising sun flag inside venues," adding that it "is only paying attention to domestic public opinion while ignoring the harmony and peace among Asians that sport is meant to foster."

Seo noted that the apology appeared only on the Japanese-language version of the committee's website and was absent from the English-language version, arguing: "This can only be seen as a trick by the organizing committee to quiet domestic public opinion."

He urged the committee to "look up the history of the rising sun flag in the remaining days of the Asian Games and reflect on how wrong this apology statement is."

The rising sun flag was used as a military banner by Japan during its imperial era and is widely regarded as a symbol of militarism in countries that suffered under Japanese imperialism, including South Korea and China.

The Japanese government, however, maintains that the design carries connotations of a good catch of fish and celebration.

On the international sports stage, South Korea's government and sports community previously protested when the organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics declined to designate the rising sun flag as a prohibited item.