Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Syrians in Japan on Monday raised the flag of the revolution at the Syrian Embassy in Tokyo, following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria two days earlier.

The historic change of flags took place “in cooperation with embassy officials,” one of the participants told Arab News Japan.

About 10 members of the Syrian community in Japan, including students, businessmen and university professors, attended the raising of the new Syrian flag. Due to the limited space, larger numbers couldn’t participate, a Syrian participant said. 

The embassy building is located in the central Minato district of Japan’s capital.

As a result of the Syrian revolution, two flags have been used to represent Syria since 2011. The Syrian Arab Republic, led by the collapsed regime of Bashar al-Assad of the Ba’ath Party, used the red-white-black tricolor originally used by the disbanded United Arab Republic.

Various Syrian opposition factions use the green-white-black tricolor known as the “Independence flag”, first used by the First Syrian Republic. 

Opposition forces took control of the capital Damascus on December 8, prompting President Assad to flee the country. Subsequently, the “Independence flag” began to be flown within the country and at Syrian embassies abroad.