allowed into the LDP coalition. In opposition The Social Democratic Party (SDPJ) and Communist Party (CPJ) opposed the bill because of the connotations both symbols have with the war era, and because the public was not given the option to settle the issue by a referendum. The chairman of the CPJ said that the party would prefer new symbols that represent a democratic and peaceful Japan. The SDPJ's opposition was a change from its previous stance toward the symbols; Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama of the Socialist Party of Japan (the SDPJ's former name) accepted both the Hinomaru and Kimigayo as the symbols of Japan in exchange for support from the LDP in the Diet in 1994. The Democratic Party of Japan The then-president of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Naoto Kan, stated that his party must support the bill because it had already recognized both as symbols of Japan. Then-Deputy Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama believed that the bill would cause further problems for school officials and unrest among leftist groups that oppose the flag and anthem. The DPJ offered an amendment to the bill that designated the Hinomaru as the national flag but gave Kimigayo no special status; an alternative anthem was to be found. On July 16, the DPJ decided to issue its amendment; if it was rejected, the party members would be allowed to vote freely. Other groups issued their own bills against the government's legislation; they were all rejected before the main vote on the bill. Public opinion In the week before the vote in the House of Councillors, The Japan Times conducted a poll in Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima. Approximately nine out of ten respondents favored having the Hinomaru as the national flag, and six out of ten supported Kimigayo as the national anthem. Overall, about 46 percent were in favor of the bill. Respondents thought of the Hinomaru as the flag of Japan and that its history should be taught. Some felt that Kimigayo was an inappropriate anthem for modern Japan; one respondent suggested using the song "Sakura Sakura" instead. Another suggestion was to keep the melody of Kimigayo but replace the lyrics. A March 1999 poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun and one by the Japan Research Council on Public Opinion Polls in July 1999 yielded different results from the poll by The Japan Times. In the former, taken after the suicide of