Two former members of the Yokohama Municipal Assembly who were ousted in June for protesting the display of the Hinomaru flag in the chamber asked Kanagawa Gov. Hiroshi Okazaki on Tuesday to rescind their expulsion.

Sakura Inoue and Hiroko Yonahara, both 37, submitted a petition based on the Local Autonomy Law asking the governor to annul the assembly's decision.

"The expulsions were not meant to punish the two individual assembly members on the grounds that they disturbed the order of the chamber, but to cast out an assembly group that opposed the imposition of the Hinomaru flag, and thus the expulsions were illegal as they violated the freedom of belief and speech," the petition said.

The two said they intend to file a suit with the Yokohama District Court by the end of the month against the municipal government over the expulsion and present a petition calling for its suspension.