'Symbol of the devil': Why South Korea wants Japan to ban the Rising Sun flag from the Tokyo Olympics
By Yoonjung Seo, Yoko Wakatsuki and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN
Updated 0502 GMT (1302 HKT) September 7, 2019
(CNN) — The organizers of Japan's 2020 Summer Olympics have refused to ban a controversial flag that South Koreans say stirs memories of the violent, brutal life endured under Japanese rule during the early to mid-1900s.
South Korea's parliamentary committee for sports wants the so-called Rising Sun flag to be banned from venues at next year's Tokyo Olympics as it is viewed in South Korea as a symbol of Japanese "imperialism and militarism."
But this week, Tokyo 2020 -- the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics -- said that the flag wouldn't be banned as it was widely used in Japan.
"The flag itself is not considered to be a political statement, so it is not viewed as a prohibited item," Tokyo 2020 said in a statement.
That decision has caused controversy back in South Korea, where An Min-suk, the chair of the parliamentary committee for sports, condemned the decision.
"A flag symbolizing war is not suitable for peaceful Olympic Games," An said in a press conference Tuesday.
"The Rising Sun flag is akin to a symbol of the devil to Asians and Koreans, just like how the swastika is a symbol of Nazis which reminds Europeans of invasion and horror."
