Japan

About the flag

Japan's flag, the Nisshōki and often called the Hinomaru ("circle of the sun"), is a red disc on a white field. It was used on merchant ships from 1870 and became the official national flag under a law passed in 1999.

That law fixes the proportions at 2:3. The disc is centred and its diameter is three-fifths of the flag's height. The red is a bright crimson, set against plain white.