A public elementary school teacher filed a lawsuit Friday against the city of Kunitachi and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government over the compulsory display of the national flag at school ceremonies.
In the lawsuit filed at the Tokyo District Court, Miwako Sato, a veteran music teacher in Kunitachi, western Tokyo, claims she suffered psychological damage after being punished by the city's education board for wearing a small blue ribbon at a commencement ceremony in March 2000 to express her opposition to displaying the flag at the ceremony.
The city's board of education issued Sato and several of her colleagues written warnings saying they did not fulfill their duties as teachers because they wore the ribbons.
Sato is seeking 2.4 million yen in damages.
In 1999, the government enacted laws officially designating the Hinomaru as the national flag and "Kimigayo" as the national anthem.
But the symbols remain controversial in Japan and abroad, especially in neighboring countries formerly colonized by Japan, due to their association with Imperial rule and Japanese militarism.
Under new rules issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's board of education in October, school principals are required to hang the Hinomaru at the front of assembly halls during ceremonies and have the leaders of the ceremony urge attendees to stand and sing the national anthem to the accompaniment of music.