---
title: "Flag of Japan: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Japan flag stands for, its official 2:3 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted. Plus the flags it gets mistaken for."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/japan/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Japan

**The flag of Japan: A plain white field with a large crimson disc at the exact centre, three-fifths of the flag's height across.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1870

*[Flag drawn on the page: Japan]*

The design is centuries older than its legal status: the Hinomaru appears on war fans and temple banners from the medieval period, was designated for merchant ships in 1870, and only became the legal national flag in August 1999. That 1999 act changed two things — it set the ratio at 2:3 rather than 7:10, and it moved the disc to the exact centre. Under the 1870 regulation the disc sat one-hundredth of the flag's length toward the hoist, an optical correction so it would look centred on a flag hanging from a pole. The red is specified as a shade of crimson rather than pure red, though flags flown in practice vary considerably.

## Flags it gets confused with

*[Flag drawn on the page: Japan, Bangladesh, Palau]*

*Drawn at each flag’s own official ratio, which is itself the difference in some of these pairs.*

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh has a green field and its red disc is deliberately off-centre toward the hoist. Japan's field is white and its disc is centred. |
| Palau | Palau's field is light blue and its disc is yellow and off-centre — and it represents the moon, not the sun. |

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Honesty and purity
- **Crimson** (#BC002D) — The sun, and sincerity and warmth

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Red disc | The sun, from the country's name — Nihon, "origin of the sun" |

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1870
- **Colours:** white, crimson

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Japan look like?

A plain white field with a large crimson disc at the exact centre, three-fifths of the flag's height across.

### What do the colours of the Japan flag mean?

White: honesty and purity. Crimson: the sun, and sincerity and warmth.

### How do you tell the Japan flag from the Bangladesh one?

Bangladesh has a green field and its red disc is deliberately off-centre toward the hoist. Japan's field is white and its disc is centred.

### When was the Japan flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1870, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/)
- [The flag of Bangladesh](https://atoneplace.net/flag/bangladesh/)
- [The flag of Palau](https://atoneplace.net/flag/palau/)
- [Every flag with white in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/white/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)