Negative perceptions of the national flag exist in former colonies of Japan as well as within Japan itself, such as in Okinawa. In one notable example of this, on October 26, 1987, an Okinawan supermarket owner burned the flag before the start of the National Sports Festival of Japan. The flag burner, Shōichi Chibana, burned the "Hinomaru" not only to show opposition to atrocities committed by the Japanese army and the continued presence of U.S. forces, but also to prevent it from being displayed in public. Other incidents in Okinawa included the flag being torn down during school ceremonies and students refusing to honor the flag as it was being raised to the sounds of "Kimigayo". In the capital city of Naha, Okinawa, the "Hinomaru" was raised for the first time since the return of Okinawa to Japan to celebrate the city's 80th anniversary in 2001. In the People's Republic of China and Republic of Korea, both of which had been occupied by the Empire of Japan, the 1999 formal adoption of the "Hinomaru" was met with reactions of Japan moving towards the right and also a step towards re-militarization. The passage of the 1999 law also coincided with the debates about the status of the Yasukuni Shrine, U.S.-Japan military cooperation and the creation of a missile defense program. In other nations that Japan occupied, the 1999 law was met with mixed reactions or glossed over. In Singapore, the older generation still harbors ill feelings toward the flag while the younger generation does not hold similar views. The Philippine government not only believed that Japan was not going to revert to militarism, but the goal of the 1999 law was to formally establish two symbols (the flag and anthem) in law and every state has a right to create national symbols. Japan has no law criminalizing the burning of the "Hinomaru", but foreign flags cannot be burned in Japan.