The Tokyo District Court rejected a damages suit Thursday filed by 172 teachers who were punished for refusing to sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at school events.
The suit, filed against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in February 2007, had demanded ¥550,000 in damages for each plaintiff and cancellation of their 2004 punishments, which ranged from warnings to reduced wages.
Presiding Judge Shigeru Nakanishi ruled that the metropolitan government directive ordering public school teachers to sing "Kimigayo" while facing the Hinomaru national flag at official school ceremonies does not violate the teachers' freedom of thought and conscience as guaranteed by the Constitution, and that the punishments were legitimate.