The Tokyo District Court last week ruled illegal the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education's policy of forcing school teachers to sing the national anthem "Kimigayo (Your Reign)" during school ceremonies. The court ruled that the policy violates Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought and conscience, and Article 10 of the Fundamental Law of Education, which prohibits subjecting education to improper control.
The ruling should serve as a reminder that people's right to a minority opinion should be protected and as a warning against any attempt to instill love of nation in children through legal or administrative means, including a revision of the education law.
The lawsuit filed by 401 incumbent and former school teachers targeted the board of education's Oct. 23, 2003, instruction -- that teachers must stand facing the Hinomaru (Sun) national flag and sing the national anthem during school ceremonies -- and its policy of punishing teachers who defy the instruction. About 320 of the plaintiffs had received such punishment.