There are two rising sun flags associated with Japan, whose very name in Japanese means "the sun's origin." One is the country's national flag, called "nisshoki," or "hinomaru," which has a red ...

South Korea’s Olympic committee said it took down the banners that referred to a 16th-century war between Korea and Japan after the IOC ruled they were provocative.

The flag, portraying a red sun with 16 rays extending outward, is resented by many South Koreans, who still harbour animosity over Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Japan’s “rising sun” flag is raising anger at the Olympics, with some of the host nation’s neighbors calling for it to be banned during the Tokyo Games, which start Friday, July 23, 2021.