Flag of Japan, 1870 pattern

CurrentSovereign stateISO JP · JPN

Variants & related flags

Flag of Japan
1999–present · national use
1870 pattern (still lawful)
1870–present · national use

Colours

Named in law, no values given

The colours are named in law, but no numeric values are given for any of them. The figures below are conventional values in wide use. Each value shows where it comes from, so you can choose the right level of certainty for your project.

ColourHEX
紅色 (crimson)
#BC002D
Widely used approximation · Name from Bill on National Flag and Anthem (Cabinet Bill No. 115, 145th Diet) — full text
白色 (white)
#FFFFFF
Widely used approximation · Name from Bill on National Flag and Anthem (Cabinet Bill No. 115, 145th Diet) — full text

Construction sheet

A disc three-fifths of the height, its centre shifted toward the hoist by one-hundredth of the length.

Height : length
7 : 10
Disc diameter
3/5 of height
Disc centre
1/100 of length toward the hoist

Sources: Bill on National Flag and Anthem (Cabinet Bill No. 115, 145th Diet) — full text; 戦前日本における「国旗」制式統一過程と国定教科書 ―文部省による制式決定（1940年）迄の経緯―

Often confused with

Flags with a similar design, and how to tell them apart.

Japan
Current standard: 2:3, with the disc exactly centred.

Sources

  1. 国旗及び国歌に関する法律 (Act on National Flag and Anthem): record in the e-Gov law database. Digital Agency of Japan (e-Gov), 13 Aug 1999, in Japanese. Accessed 3 Oct 2026.
  2. 国旗及び国歌に関する法律 (Act on National Flag and Anthem): text in force, e-Gov law database. Digital Agency of Japan (e-Gov), 13 Aug 1999, in Japanese. Accessed 3 Oct 2026.
  3. 戦前日本における「国旗」制式統一過程と国定教科書 ―文部省による制式決定（1940年）迄の経緯―. 教育史学会 (Japan Society for Historical Studies of Education), 2016, in Japanese. Accessed 3 Oct 2026.
  4. Bill on National Flag and Anthem (Cabinet Bill No. 115, 145th Diet) — full text. House of Representatives of Japan, 1999, in Japanese. Accessed 3 Oct 2026.