Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education imposes regulations on entrance and graduation ceremonies for faculty and staff in metropolitan schools
The Tokyo Shimbun reported on the 24th that the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education has disciplined 484 teachers over the past 20 years for refusing to stand for the national flag (Japanese flag) and sing the national anthem (Kimigayo), which is mandated at entrance and graduation ceremonies at metropolitan schools.
According to a report by the Tokyo Shimbun, during the entrance and graduation ceremonies on October 23, 2003, during the time of Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, a policy was issued that included the rule that faculty and staff should “stand facing the national flag and sing the national anthem.”
When the National Flag Act, which designated the Japanese flag as the national flag and Kimigayo as the national anthem, was passed in 1999, the Japanese government denied coercion, but Governor Ishihara stipulated in the notice that those who do not follow this regulation would be held accountable.
However, many teachers did not follow Tongda, conscious that the Japanese flag and Kimigayo were symbols of militarism before the war. In 2003, 193 students received disciplinary action such as warnings or pay cuts at the graduation ceremony, and 210 students were disciplined at the 2004 entrance ceremony.
Kawamura Sawa (65), a former provincial high school teacher who was warned three times between 2004 and 2016 for refusing to raise the national flag, was one of the teachers who received disciplinary action.
He had hoped to be reappointed after retirement in 2019 and work until the age of 65, but the process was halted in March of last year. He could not even be hired as a temporary teacher due to maternity or childcare leave.
Mr. Kawamura expressed indignation to the Tokyo Shimbun, saying, “Even though the field is suffering due to a teacher shortage, they are trying to completely exclude those who do not follow (the Provincial Education Commission guidelines).”
Fifteen people, including Mr. Kawamura, are in the process of filing a lawsuit to cancel the disciplinary action at the Tokyo District Court, claiming that the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education’s guidelines violate the freedom of thought and belief guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution.
Recently, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the UN Human Rights Committee have recommended avoiding coercion or disciplinary measures. The Tokyo Shimbun reported that although some salary reductions have been canceled due to the rulings so far, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education is maintaining a hard-line stance, including reimposing them through warnings.
Meanwhile, the application rate for the 2024 teacher recruitment exam announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education was an overall average of 1.6 to 1, falling below 2 to 1 for the first time and hitting an all-time low. Regarding this result, the Tokyo Shimbun reported an expert’s opinion that it was “the result of suppressing the teachers’ thinking.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.