Prior to and during the war in the Pacific, Japanese military flags (e.g., 旭日旗) were used while the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was conquering East Asia and promoting the ideology of Imperial Japan. Since the flags symbolize Japanese imperial militarism and offend countries who fought against the IJA, on the one hand, and conflict with the admirable spirit of FIFA's mission and values, on the other, the use of the flags or any types of symbol that resemble and are associated with them during the international soccer games recognized by FIFA respectfully in general and FIFA World Cup in particular, must be prohibited.