Flag of Fukushima

The flag of Fukushima is a deep orange, with the white emblem placed a little above and to the left of the centre. That off-centre position makes it unique: no other of Japan’s 47 prefectures puts its symbol in that position.

How it came about

Fukushima made its current flag official on 23 October 1968, as part of the events for the centenary of the Meiji era. The emblem came out of a public call: Junko Shiina drew it, then a final-year art student at Fukushima University, as classwork, inspired by the initial syllable of the name of the prefecture. The composition of the flag —moving the symbol towards the upper left corner —was not her idea: it was decided by the committee that selected her proposal.

How it has changed

The flag of 1968 is the second Fukushima has had. The first was made official on 4 August 1951 for the national sports games (kokutai) of 1952, which Fukushima organised together with Miyagi and Yamagata, and lasted seventeen years.

1. 

   1951-1968

   The first official flag: green ground, the Bandai mountain drawn in white and the name of the prefecture written in red. It read as an image of a valley full of hope.

2. 

   1968

   The current flag, orange with the symbol moved up and to the left, was adopted on 23 October 1968 for the Meiji centenary.

What it means

According to the official sheet of the prefecture:

• Reddish orange ground

  affection and hope.

• White emblem

  the initial of Fukushima —the syllable ふ— rounded into a circle; it expresses the harmony and union of the neighbours and the firm progress of the prefecture.

• Placed up and to the left

  Fukushima’s unlimited leap towards the future.

• Hidden peach

  the creator herself told in 2024 that the drawing also evoked a peach to her, the typical fruit of the prefecture: the round fruit and two leaves as dots.

Fun facts

1. The only off-centre flag in Japan

   In 2024 the public broadcaster NHK went through the 47 prefectural flags: Ehime, Kumamoto and Nagano also carry the symbol shifted to the left, but Fukushima is the only one that also lifts it upwards.

2. Its creator did not know why it was off-centre

   Junko Shiina confessed to NHK that she was unaware of the reason for the off-centre position: she only designed the emblem, and the committee made the flag by moving it.

3. A second symbol full of colour

   Since 1991 the prefecture has had an alternative logo with the motto Fukushima beautiful: blue of the sky and the sea, green of nature, red of the sun and yellow of people’s laughter. It is used above all on the entrance signs of the towns.

Location