Japan Flag Map and Meaning

Colors and the Meaning of the Japan Flag

The shape of the Japan flag is a red circle placed on a white background.

The red circle refers to the sun rising from the country. In Japan, the name of the country in its own language means ‘the source of the sun’, the sun is one of the most important national symbols. According to Japanese mythology, the goddess of the sun Amaterasu is the queen of the Japanese gods and the mother of the Japanese emperor. The white color represents the integrity and integrity of the Japanese people.

Japanese soldiers (samurai) and ships had used the sunny flag for a thousand years. After the restoration of Meiji, which started in 1868, this flag was regarded as a national flag. The National Flag and Starter Law adopted in 1999 determined the size of the flag.

Japan Flag Map and Meaning 1
Japan Flag Map

History of the Japan Flag

According to tradition and history, the goddess Amaterasu founded Japan and its nation 2,700 years ago. It is also believed that this goddess was the ancestor of the first Japanese empire. That is why the emperor is known as the sun’s son, and Japan is called the country of the rising sun. According to the old records, this flag was used in the first year by the Shogans who fought against the Japanese Mongol occupation in the 13th century and the Emperor Mommu.

The flag was the official flag of the 1870s as a merchant flag. But in 1999 the flag became the official flag of Japan.

In history, there are many variations of flags in Japan. Some belong to the Japanese navy, some to the Japanese defense armies, and some to the Japanese emperor family. One of the most famous versions is the Bangladesh flag at the center of the sun. The Palau flag also looks like the Japanese flag, because Palau was ruled by Japan from 1914 to 1944.

Neighboring Countries of Japan

Japan Flag Map and Meaning 2


Japan, which is an island country in East Asia and located in the Pacific Ocean, has no borders with any country. It is neighboring the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia from the Japanese Sea. It extends from the Okhotsk Sea in the north to the East China Sea in the south and to Taiwan.

Main Characteristics of Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Kanji characters forming the Japanese name means sun and origin. For this reason, Japan is also known as the Land of the Eastern Sun. Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands in terms of geographical structure. The islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which are the largest of these islands, constitute 97 percent of the country. Most of the islands are mountainous and some are volcanoes. Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, is a volcano.

With a population of 127 million, Japan is the tenth most populous country in the world. Tokyo Metropolitan City, located in Honshu, is the largest metropolitan area in the world with over 30 million inhabitants, including the actual capital Tokyo and the governorships and cities around the area.

CountryJapan
CodeJP (JPN)
Calling Code81
Capital CityTokyo
Currencyjapanese yen (JPY)
Emoji Symbol🇯🇵
Highest PointMount Fuji (3,776 m)
Internet TLD.jp
Population(2017)127,484,450
Total Area377,873 km2