Image copyright
PA Media
ITV apologized “for any infraction caused” during a performance of Anne-Marie at the end of Saturday evening take-out of Ant and Dec.
The hosts of the show wore headbands that displayed the Japanese rising sun flag during a performance inspired by the martial arts of Ciao Adios.
The flag is considered by some to be a symbol of Japan’s imperialist past.
Anne-Marie also apologized for the “harm” she had caused but said she had “nothing to do” with the costumes.
ITV said it had “taken steps to re-edit” parts of Saturday’s episode for its catch-up service ITV Hub and for future broadcasts.
The channel said the violation “was clearly not intentional”.
South Korea wants the flag to be banned at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Some politicians there have compared it to the Nazi swastika.
What is the flag of the rising sun?
Image copyright
Getty Images
The national flag of Japan is a red disk on a white background.
The rising sun flag has a similar red disc but with 16 red rays coming from it. The two flags have been used for a long time, dating back centuries.
During the 19th century, the rising sun symbol became the military flag and it flew during the imperialist expansion of Japan when it occupied Korea and part of China.
During World War II, it became the flag of the navy – and it was largely there that it acquired its controversial reputation. Japanese troops occupied much of Asia during the war, committing atrocities against local people.
Despite this, the flag has been widely used as a national symbol in Japan and is widely used on products, in advertisements and in popular culture.
Today it is still the country’s navy flag and a slightly different version is used for the regular army.
Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 5:45 p.m. weekdays – or listen again here.
