The Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger is a pirate flag predominantly featured in the Japanese One Piecemanga and its franchise, wherein it is used to identify the Straw Hat Pirates, the pirate crew featuring the series' protagonists, who often fight for liberation of oppressed people.
It has become a symbol for youth-led protest movements globally such as the August 2025 Indonesian protests where people began using the flag in lieu of the national flag as a form of protest against the government, and the practice was emulated in other countries, notably during the Asian Spring where the flag saw widespread use in protests in Nepal and Madagascar. The flag has also seen use in protests in Europe, South America, and the United States.
Fictional background
The flag is a fictional Jolly Roger, depicting a cartoonish skull with two crossbones and a straw hat. In Eichiro Oda's One Piece series, each pirate crew has its own distinct Jolly Roger that reflects its traits and beliefs. Although the flag was originally drawn by the main series protagonist Luffy, his poor sketch led one of his crewmates Usopp to redesign it.[1]
The flag’s anti-authoritarian usage is a reference to a major storyline involving the fictional world government, which controls most of the manga’s locations, and the Straw Hat Pirates’ struggles to fight back, while subsequently hunting for the titular treasure.[2] As described by CNN, "the flag symbolizes Luffy’s quest to chase his dreams, liberate oppressed people, and fight the autocratic World Government".[3] Multiple academic works have analysed how the manga draws parallels to real world politics and authoritarianism.[4][5][6]
The flag had been used in protests in Indonesia as early as October 2023 in Yogyakarta, during protests against the Gaza War.[7] Student protesters in Indonesia begun flying the flag again in February 2025.[8] Truck drivers began flying the Straw Hat Pirates' flag in late July 2025 to protest the prohibition of ODOL (over dimension, overload) trucks throughout several cities in Java, ongoing since 19 June 2025.[9][10][11]
The flag came into prominence during the 2025 Indonesian anti-government protests which started in the weeks leading up to Independence Day on 17 August.[12] In July, President Prabowo Subianto had called on Indonesians to fly the red and white national flag to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the country's independence. Following the president's speech an apparel store received "thousands of orders" for the Jolly Roger flag, because "The anime reflects the injustice and inequality that Indonesians experience".[13]
Nepal
During the 2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests, wherein large-scale protest and demonstrations were organized by Generation Z against government corruption, the Straw Hat Pirates' flag became a key symbol.[14][3] Protesters displayed the flag with slogans criticizing the luxurious lifestyles of politicians' children on social media.[3] Posts featuring the flag went viral on Nepalese social media, and its adoption quickly spread among protesters. One Nepalese protester interviewed by The Kathmandu Post remarked that the flag's use in Indonesian protests "surely popularised its use in protests in Nepal".[15] As the government of K. P. Sharma Oli was toppled by the protests, protesters hung the flag at the gates of the Singha Durbar palace as it burned.[3]
Other countries
Two flags are displayed by protestors in Rizal Park, Manila.Protesters in Budapest, Hungary with the flag.
It was also used in the 2025 Madagascar protests as a symbolic gesture against the government for inadequate water and power, with protesters using a variant of the flag with a colorful traditional Malagasy hat in place of the regular straw hat.[17] The icon was adopted by social media accounts associated with protesters.[8]
The flag was flown by some protesters during the Trillion Peso March which was against corruption and the "ghost projects" controversy in the Philippines,[18][19] and by university students protesting lifetime pensions for parliament members in East Timor.[20] During another protest in the Philippines on 12 October, a motorcycle rider carrying the flag was confronted by other protestors who suspected him of being a provocateur, and he was escorted away by police.[21]
During the French anti-government Bloquons tout protests in September 2025 after the fall of the Bayrou government, some protesters carried the flag.[22][18]
The flag was present during the protests against pension reforms in Peru, a reform promoted by the government of Dina Boluarte. Specifically, the flag was present again during the protest on September 24 in Plaza San Martín, Lima.[23] Anti-government protesters in Asuncion, Paraguay in late September also carried the flag.[24]
The Guardian described the flag as "a symbol of defiance and hope for gen Z protesters" which has "resonated across borders".[37] Tokoro Ikuya (床呂郁哉), professor of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies who studies Japanese popular culture, indicated that the flag serves as "an icon conveys a message that could be understood beyond minor different positions".[38]
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