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Hinomaru becomes tool to raise spirits, tourism, patriotism

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2013/01/04

The Hinomaru is hoisted in Nakanoto, a town in Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 23, the emperor's birthday. (Koshin Shisui)Vice Principal Eiji Hirakawa hoists the Hinomaru at Tsukumi Elementary School in Tsukumi, Oita Prefecture, on Dec. 21, before children come to school. (Ryosuke Yamamoto)The Hiomaru flutters atop a flagpole built at a roadside station in Tarumizu, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Dec. 26 against the backdrop of Mount Sakurajima, a volcano. (Ryosuke Yamamoto)

City officials in Nakanoto, a rice- and textile-producing town in Ishikawa Prefecture, want residents to hoist the Hinomaru, Japan's national flag, and is even offering a merchandise coupon worth 1,000 yen ($11) to anyone who buys one.