Originally scheduled for release and already shipped and stocked to retailers back in October, the Air Jordan Retro XII “Rising Sun” was suddenly pulled from shelves with its official drop date pushed back another month. After a quick scan of various sneaker websites on the shoes, no other publication seems to have posted a conclusive and definitive reason why.

Counter Kicks can now confirm via a Champs Sports representative we spoke with recently that the reason the “Rising Sun” XII’s were delayed was in fact because of the Japanese Rising Sun Military Flag printed on the insoles, which made waves with Korean and Chinese retailers and consumers upon arrival as the flag is seen as a symbol for Japanese imperialism and historic aggression toward those countries. Our Champs Sports rep also confirmed that the shoes have been sitting in stockrooms since October and that Jordan Brand directed every store to take out the insoles and return them back to the company for destruction. New insoles were simply shipped back out to retailers and installed with a “Rising Sun”-less graphic motif. Find the shoes back on store racks this Saturday. Continue reading for more detailed photos of the shoe.