With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics rapidly approaching, more eyes are turning to the land of the rising sun, possibly more than ever before. Japan’s history in World War II has resurfaced, with some users demanding Japan ban all variations of their rising sun flag from the event.

A new petition (and many others) have been garnering signatures, demanding the country not display the above flag during any part of the event – as it was used during their years as Imperial Japan, and part of the Axis Powers in World War II.

As these claims have become increasingly more common, Japan’s government has since rejected all claims that the flag is a political statement. Despite this, petitions and vocal users keep insisting the flag is synonymous with the Nazi swastika.

Here’s the extremely long bit regarding the petition:

Please ban the use of the Rising Sun Flag when cheering for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the global peace festival!

‘No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.’

Section 2 of Article 50 of the Olympic Charter –

Do you remember the Olympic Games that left the most disgraceful blot in the history of the Olympics?

It is the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.

The Nazi Adolf Hitler tried to tell the world the physical superiority of the Aryan race through the 1936 Berlin Olympics that there is no wonder for the German Nazi to dominate the entire world.

The Nazi aimed to be exonerated of from their racism and militarism. They also tried to exploit the Berlin Olympic Games as a political propaganda to rationalize the invasion of neighboring countries.

World citizens today recall the Berlin Olympics as the most disgraceful Olympic Games and as the one that was abused as a political propaganda.

At the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games was the Hakenkreuz, the symbol of Nazi militarism.

By the way, do you know?

The 1936 Berlin Olympics which is remembered as the world’s most shameful history of undermining the spirit of the Olympics is being revived with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

The Japanese government is trying to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics a militaristic propaganda as it was in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Recently, the Japanese government has approved the use of the Rising Sun Flag when cheering for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

On September 2019, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee has announced that the Rising Sun Flag has been used broadly throughout Japan and does not include any political significance.

Japan’s Olympic minister, Hashimoto Seiko also approved the use of the Rising Sun Flag on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Rising Sun Flag is the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ flag and is the symbol of Japanese imperialistic war of aggression.

Because of the Japanese imperialistic invasion a hundred years ago, Japan’s Rising Sun Flag is like Hakenkreuz, the Nazi militarist symbol, for Asian people including Korean and Chinese.

In 1870, the Japanese Army has designated the Rising Sun Flag as their army flag!

In 1889, the Japanese Navy has labeled the Rising Sun Flag as a naval ensign!

The Sino-Japanese War of 1894!

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904!

Colonization of Korea in 1910!

The Manchurian Incident in 1931!

Up to the Pacific War by Japan invading Asian countries from 1941 to 1945!

The Japanese military had put up the Rising Sun Flag in front and invaded Asia, including Korea, China, and Southeast Asia!

From 1910 to 1945, the Japanese imperialism colonized Korea forcibly in particular, imprisoned the entire Korean peninsula, tortured and murdered to destroy Koreans’ will to independence.

Japanese imperialism has seized the human and material resources of the Korean peninsula and trampled down the Korean language and culture and greatly damaged it.

Japanese imperialism extended the war across the Asia-Pacific beyond the Korean Invasion, and committed numerous war crimes, murders, tourture, sexual slavery, rape, terrorism, exploitation and infringed upon human rights.

Japanese imperialistic invasion killed more than 20 million lives.

Japan’s Rising Sun Flag is the military flag that was used during Japanese imperialistic invasion.

So for Asian people like Koreans, the Rising Sun Flag is the same war crime flag as the Nazi’s Hakenkreuz.

In European countries like France and Poland, which were invaded by the German Nazis during the Second World War, the use of the Nazi’s Hakenkreuz pattern is forbidden by law.

European nations prohibit the use of the Nazi Hakenkreuz pattern and if violated, one will be strongly punished.

But unlike Germany, which completely cleared off the Nazi Germany, the complete liquidation of Japan, which caused the same imperialistic invasion, is not clearly finished yet.

Japan still uses the Rising Sun Flag as their Self-Defense Force’s flag after the defeat in 1945.

In 1954, Japanese Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces designated the Rising Sun Flag as their symbolic flag.

Koreans are outraged by the Japanese government’s use of the Rising Sun Flag without genuine apology and responsible behavior about their imperialistic invasion.

Above all, the Japanese government is trying to use the Rising Sun Flag in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

What if Germany were to host the Olympic Games in 2020, and announced to the international community that it would allow Hakenkreuz which were used by the Nazis in the 1936 Olympics, what would the citizens of European countries who were affected by Nazi Germany’s massacre and biological experimentations feel?

How would the world citizens who had suffered under the Nazi Hakenkreuz react to the situation?

It is the same shock and anger of what Koreans felt when the Japanese government announced the use of the Rising Sun Flag in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Japanese government has been concealing the fact that the Rising Sun Flag was used in the process of carrying out invasive war crimes.

As the Hakenkreuz represents the extreme totalitarian fascism for Europeans, the Rising Sun Flag is also the symbol of extreme fascism used in Japanese imperialism.

Therefore, the Japanese government’s decision to use the Rising Sun Flag in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is reproducing the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where the Olympics were used for political propaganda.

The Japanese government insists that using the Rising Sun Flag does not include ‘political propaganda’, but Koreans who have suffered tremendous pain and damage from the Japanese invasion cannot accept it.

Most importantly, Koreans want to prevent the revival of German Nazi’s Berlin Olympics, which violated the Olympic spirit and is recorded as the most shameful in Olympics history, from happening again in the 21st century Tokyo Olympics.

Your participation in the petition can prevent Japan’s reviving militarism!

The use of the Rising Sun Flag must be banned in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics!

The Rising Sun Flag should be included in the list of restricted items in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics!

The International Olympic Committee should issue a warning to the Japanese Olympic Committee for violating the Olympic Charter that no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas!