A video showing Japanese people trampling on Korea’s national flag Taegeukki is spreading online, adding controversy to already strained Korea-Japan relations.

The video shows a small group of Japanese people taking turns to step on a version of the Korean flag in which the black lines around the red-and-blue central circle are depicted as cockroaches.

The video is reported to have been created in late July by members of an extreme right-wing organization that calls for Japan to sever diplomatic ties with Seoul.

In the background, the voice of a man who is not shown in the video urges people to step on the flag, saying, “The flag is fake Pepsi (logo), so the black lines are cockroaches drawn to Pepsi.”

The video also shows a number of Japanese women wearing traditional dress, one of whom is holding the rising sun flag that was used as the military flag of Japan’s imperial army during World War II.

The video is the latest development in online campaigns conducted by Japan’s right-wing groups, with such groups having posted videos online of their members burning and kicking the Korean flag.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)