Japan’s flag has a white field with a centered red circle, representing the sun. Its official name is Nisshōki, while Hi no Maru—“circle of the sun”—is the name most commonly used in Japan.
The design reflects Japan’s long-standing identity as the “Land of the Rising Sun.” Red-and-white banners associated with Japan appeared in earlier periods, and a sun emblem was used by Japanese rulers and military forces for centuries. The flag became a civil ensign in 1870 and was legally defined as the national flag, with slight design changes, in 1999.
A frequent mix-up is with Bangladesh, whose flag also has a red disk on a green field; Bangladesh’s circle is offset toward the hoist and its background is green. Indonesia and Monaco use red over white horizontal bands, not a red circle. South Korea’s flag has a red-and-blue taegeuk and four black trigrams, making it visually distinct.