New Delhi, July 17 -- why, in the 21st century, would a democracy choose to protect its flag with prison sentences while its neighbors still carry the memory of what armies marched under that flag?

Japan had long penalized those who desecrated foreign flags, but left the Hinomaru without equivalent protection.

The new offense also extends to livestreaming flag desecration, a provision aimed squarely at online political expression. Exemptions were written in for creative works, including paintings, anime, manga, video games and even the miniature paper flags sometimes tucked into children's meal boxes. It is precisely this ambiguity, critics argue, between political protest and artistic expression, that invites selective enforcement.

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