On Saturday, during the second round match of Group F at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, Japan defeated Tunisia 4-0. At the scene, Japanese fans brought the Japanese military flag known as the 'Rising Sun Flag' into the stadium. Fans criticized this as reopening the historical wounds of countries that were invaded by Japan or whose people were killed during World War II.
Weibo account “JR Sports Diary” posted several photos of Japanese fans bringing the 'Rising Sun Flag' to watch the match. The blogger commented that this “angrily provokes Asia—on one hand, it is a historical scar, on the other, it is used as a ‘cheering tool’ for the game.”
The post stated that FIFA has remained silent about the incident.
Chinese netizens commented, “How can the Japanese military flag be allowed to enter the stadium so openly? We must distinguish right from wrong!”, “It’s equivalent to the Nazi swastika flag of the German army,” “Is anyone going to do anything about the Nazi flag?”, “Such behavior that insults Asia should not be tolerated; international competitions must pay attention to upholding justice.”
In fact, Japan’s use of the 'Rising Sun Flag' at international sporting events and diplomatic occasions has frequently sparked war of words between South Korea and Japan. With the flag appearing again at this World Cup, Korean media outlet SPOTV NEWS directly used the headline “Shameless Japan” to criticize Japan’s claim that “there’s nothing wrong with the Rising Sun Flag,” while the Japanese side also firmly asserted that “Korea’s criticism is just nitpicking.”