Committee to Stop Firing of Nezu, Kawarai: February 2008

Introduction

Kimiko Nezu, a Home Economics teacher and Junko Kawarai, a teacher for children with special needs, are among many teachers in Japan who are resisting the remilitarization pressure from the government, by not standing up when Kimigayo, the national anthem is played at school ceremonies.

Kimigayo and the national flag Hinomaru are regarded by many people in Asia as symbols of Japan's wartime imperialism and militarism. Nezu feels that the historical implications of these national symbols are not taught sufficiently at Japanese schools. Kimigayo, often translated as "May Your Reign Last Forever," is a song that praises the Emperor, under whose name millions of lives were vainly lost in the past wars. These teachers in Japan, by not standing for Kimigayo, express their determination to never again send Japanese citizens to war.

These teachers, particularly those in Tokyo where nationalist, Shintaro Ishihara, serves as Governor, are subject to punitive measures such as reprimands, pay cuts, suspensions from work, and prohibitions against rehiring after retirement. What stands out in Tokyo is that the disciplinary measures for the same deed become more severe as teachers repeat the act of resistance. The most recent punishments imposed on Nezu and Kawarai were a 6-month suspension from April to September 2007 and a 3-month suspension from April to June 2007, respectively. The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education had warned Nezu that that would be her last suspension, implying that she would lose her job if she refused to stand up for Kimigayo again.

Teachers are about to be fired for not standing up. They are about to be fired for expressing their beliefs. Have you ever heard of anything like this happening in a democratic country? This should not happen. This is a grave infringement of Article 19 of Japan's Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought and conscience.

In September 2006, Tokyo District Court ruled that coercion associated with Kimigayo and Hinomaru at schools is unconstitutional. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government appealed and continues to impose punishments on teachers.

Kimiko Nezu took action even when she was under suspension. Every day she went to the school gate and greeted students and teachers who went through the gate. Rain or shine, she would stand at the gate, and talk to the people who spoke to her, wondering why she was there. She called this, "Going to Work Under Suspension" ("Teishoku Shukkin" in Japanese), and she kept a journal of daily events in which she recorded her lively conversation with students, parents, colleagues, supporters, and passersby. This journal was made public on the internet and touched the hearts of many readers.

We, a group of citizens who are committed to support Kimiko Nezu and the other teachers under punishment, decided to translate her journal into English so that more people throughout the world would be able to read it and become aware of the serious human rights violations in Japan. We believe this issue deserves international attention and international action.

For Kimiko Nezu's message, please read here.

If you would like to contact us for further information and to find out what you can do to help the Japanese teachers, please email yadamascussteel@yahoo .co.jp. Thank you very much for your interest.

Committee to Stop the Firing of Nezu, Kawarai, and Other Teachers

Sailing

by Junko Kawarai

Another new sailing today

Calmly and quietly to the ocean

Proudly hoisting the sail of
"Never send our children and students to the battlefield again"

Another new sailing today

With the beating heart of a life

Against any big wave swallowing you

Against a high wind blowing you away

Harboring and cherishing the precious life of each one of us
Denying sea routes toward altering the constitution and toward war

Another new sailing today, calmly and quietly

Thousands of ships all the way to the ocean

A toast to the sailing today!

A toast to the sailing today!

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Union Songs: http://unionsong.com/u561.html
Union Songs: http://unionsong.com/u514.html

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2/15/2008

Report by Kimiko Nezu on her visits to Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, February 1st to 14th, 2008

On February 1, 2008, I was summoned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education on account of my wearing a pullover with "OBJECTION HINOMARU KIMIGAYO" printed on it, which they alleged was an offence of not obeying the administrative order issued by the principal of my school as well as a violation of the Duty of Concentrating on the Job. The Board claimed that the interview would be in regard to the "incident" reported by the principal of Minamiosawa Gakuen School for Children with Special Needs in October, 2007. I had many questions during the interview, but the interviewer, Mr. Takahashi, the Chief Managing Officer, kept repeating, "The interview is not an occasion for you to ask questions. I am not in the position of answering them." And so on February 7, I faxed to him written inquiries open to the public. On February 8, I took the inquiries to the Board in person.

On February 12, I received the answer from them. It said, "We are unable to answer any of your questions. That is the answer." This was the response from the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education that never fails to insist on the accountability of its teachers!

Anticipating that at the behind-the-curtain meeting of the regular Board Meeting scheduled on Thursday, February 14, the issue of my punishment would be suggested to be included in the agenda, we organized ourselves (I myself and members of the Committee to Stop Firing of Nezu, Kawarai and Other Teachers) to make appeals to the Board for three consecutive days, starting in the evening of the 12th.

The content of the appeals were as follows: "I am not aware of ever receiving an administrative order from the principal. Nonetheless, is it still to be understood by you and me as an administrative order? As I wear the pullover in question, I engage myself in the job wholeheartedly without ever being distracted. The principal, who claims my wearing the pullover to be a violation of the Duty of Concentrating on the Job, has been regularly witnessed by many of his staff to be dozing off at his desk. Shouldn't this behavior of his be understood as a violation of the Duty of Concentrating on the Job? When the report made by the principal and my understanding of the 'incident' diverge, we cannot expect any fair and appropriate judgment to be made. Therefore, I first ask you to answer my open inquiries."

In the early morning on February 13, we handed out flyers of appeals and explained our issues by loud speakers in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (where the Board of Education is housed). Then we headed to the Employee Issues Section, Department of Personnel, and made following requests: "We ask you to at least answer inquiries Ms. Nezu has presented," and "We ask to see Mr. Takahashi, the Chief Managing Officer." While we were making these requests, the plaintiffs of the law suit regarding the Board's refusal to give the retired teachers new appointments arrived, asking to see the Head of the Appointment Selection Section. Overwhelmed by our collective presence, the Head of the Personnel Planning Section resorted to issuing a warning three times.

He read the warning: "It is five minutes past one, and this is the third warning. If this warning was not heard, we will call the police." By calling out the name of myself and Mr. M, a plaintiff of the above-mentioned suit, he issued an "order of departure."

We decided to leave. After having a late lunch, we headed to the Employee Issues Section again. There we saw the Head of the Appointment Section being placed at the front line, and the word "holiday" printed on his vest caught my attention. I asked him several times whether wearing the vest with the word "holiday" printed on it constituted a violation of the Duty of Concentrating on the Job. But there was no answer coming from him. The next day we paid a visit to the same Section, he was not wearing the vest in question. We wondered if that was simply a happenstance.

I had been asking them to see Mr. Takahashi, the Chief Managing Officer, before they decided on a punishment to be imposed on me. The Head of the Appointment Section and the Head of the Public Service Section came out to see me, and they were initially saying: "He won't be able to see you today." In response I told them I would be prepared to see him even in the middle of the night or in the early morning, but this was what they said, quite unconcernedly: "Mr. Takahashi, the Chief Managing Officer, will not see you today, tomorrow, or any time in the future. This is the decision we as the Board of Education have made."

If that was what they insisted, next step was to see Superintendent whose job included, we assumed, answering my inquiries. We headed to the 30th floor where the Superintendent Office was located. There we found strict guard against us. Obviously, they thought we deserved it. Nonetheless, we started to repeat out requests.

On the 14th, there were at least 10 guards that I could see and count. They included not only the guards that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government hired but also the Security Police Officers. When we asked through a microphone, "Please, Security Police Officers, do not videotape us," they immediately put away their video cameras. That was why we were sure they were from the Security Police. Following the early-morning distribution of flyers of appeals, we attended the regular Board of Education meeting in large numbers. After that, we made our requests over and over again, even though it might seem futile. The government staff were acting and reacting as if they were Adolf Otto Eichmanns, but as we repeated our request, we hoped that our appeals strike home with even one of them. When I could see that our words touched someone, I felt relieved. Otherwise, all we could see were Eichmanns thrown at the front line.

Anybody who did not do what the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education told them to do were to be expelled. This applied not only to teachers but also to any Tokyoite. That was the message thrown at us from the beginning to the end. Mr. T., my former student, said: "So, we are all dispensable Tokyoite!"

I was supported by so many people day in and day out. On February 12th, 30 people showed up to give their support. On 13th, approximately 100 people did. On 14th, when the regular Board meeting was held, as many as 120 people came out to support me and to express their serious concerns toward the way the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education had been functioning.

Ms. T, Ms. T, who came from all the way from Hiroshima and Osaka to show their support, thank you very much. Two of my former students from my last year at Ishikawa Junior High School showed up and they gave me tremendous energy.

While we were making our requests on the 27th and 30th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, outside there were people encircling the Building to show their support. The members of the Committee to Stop Firing of Nezu, Kawarai and Other Teachers were explaining our issues to the public and asking for their support in two different locations by the Building.

I heard that there were people who gave us monetary support on 13th and 14th. As I saw the bills they had left for us and thought of their expression of support, I felt my fatigue just got blown away.

Let me share with you two happy incidents:

(1) One of my former student from my early years at Ishikawa Junior High School came to Tokyo Metropolitan Government in order to renew her driver's license. As she approached the Building she heard the name "Kimiko Nezu" being mentioned by a speaker talking through a microphone. She asked what was happening, and she came up to the 30th floor to say hi to me and to show her support.
(2) I was given a present by a person working at Tokyo Metropolitan Government. "Why me?" I asked, and she replied, "Because you are fighting for your cause." She probably was aware of and sympathetic toward our morning appeals. We suspect there must be many people working at the Government who share her sentiment.

The issue of my punishment was not discussed at the regular Board meeting on February 14th. We think it will likely be discussed at the next regular Board meeting scheduled on February 21st. In order not to allow them to decide on a punishment that leads to my dismissal, we are planning to organize ourselves on February 20th and 21st as follows.

We welcome your support!

2/01/2008

Please Join an Urgent Phoning and Letter-Sending Campaign

We need your help urgently! The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education is attempting to fire Ms. Kimiko Nezu before waiting for school graduation ceremonies to be held in March, 2008. They have decided that the message printed on the clothes Ms. Nezu wears at work, which reads "OBJECTION HINOMARU KIMIGAYO," requires an administrative order that Ms. Nezu take off that particular article of clothing.. Since Ms. Neze does not believe such an order can even be recognized as an administrative order, and even if it is, she does not believe such an order can stand on justifiable grounds, she has no intention of obeying it. This can give the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education an excuse to discipline her, and, given the cumulative punishment already imposed on her, the next disciplinary action could well mean her dismissal from teaching profession altogether.
We see this as a preemptive strike by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education before our ever growing support for Ms. Nezu becomes too powerful to ignore. WE NEED YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW. Please consider phoning the following individuals and express your concerns directly to them. Please also send the postcards explained above with additional comments expressing your concerns and support for Ms. Nezu.

Names and phone numbers of the individuals in question:

1 Person in charge of hearing public complaint
Educational Information Section, General Affairs Department
The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education
Phone: +81 (country code of Japan)-3-5320-6733
Fax: +81 (country code of Japan)-3-5388-1726

2 Person in charge of disciplinary action
The Public Service Division, Personnel Department
The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education
Phone: +81 (country code of Japan)-3-5320-6792

3 Mr. Yuzo Ozaki, Principal
Minamiosawa Gakuen School for Children with Special Needs
Phone: +81(country code of Japan)-42-675-6075

Thank you very much for your support.

Citizen Volunteers from the Committee to Stop the Firing of Nezu, Kawarai, and Other Teachers.

message from Kimiko Nezu

October 2007
Notes on the context for my "going to work under suspension" journal

Ever since Shintaro Ishihara assumed the governorship of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, education in Tokyo has been collapsing with speed of a rock rolling downhill. Ishihara is the man who thought nothing of making his visions public, visions such as "breaking free of Japan's constitution" and "making Tokyo the epicenter of change that will sweep over the whole of Japan." Thanks to his leadership, the public schools in Tokyo, where freedom in education was relatively secure, have been transformed into machines that are controlled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education and/or the board of education in individual municipalities. These boards have begun to interfere with the content of classroom instructions which they deem may be threatening the state's control of education. The notion of education as the right of individual children is being discarded and, in its place, education for the people in power and education for the nation state have begun. As the first step in this direction, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education has embarked on a policy aimed at controlling the teachers and staff members by dispatching orders and demanding their obedience. Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education is using the "Kimigayo" song as a "loyalty test" for teachers.

On 1989 the Ministry of Education and Science began forcing the schools to hoist the "Hinomaru" flag and to sing the "Kimigayo" song at official school ceremonies. But in Tokyo there were still quite a few teachers and staff members who did not stand up during the singing of "Kimigayo." The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education decided that they would no longer tolerate this situation, and, in order to ensure no teachers and staff members would be seated during the performance of "Kimigayo," they dispatched a directive on October 23, 2003. The directive said that "At ceremonies such as entrance and graduation ceremonies, school teachers and staff members shall stand up for 'Kimigayo' and sing the song. The school principal will present an administrative order based on this directive, and if any of his/her staff chooses to disobey his/her order, that person will be charged with neglect of duty." The message was that if teachers did not stand up or refused to provide piano accompaniment to the song, they would be punished. This directive is known as the "10.23 directive."

Tokyo is not the only place where coercion concerning the "Hinomaru" flag and the "Kimigayo" song at schools is happening. It is spreading throughout Japan. However, punishing teachers who refuse to stand up for "Kimigayo" or to provide piano accompaniment to the song is unique to only a few prefectures, even in heavily right-leaning Japan today. In addition to Tokyo, those areas include the City of Kitakyushu, the Hiroshima Prefecture, and the Niigata Prefecture. What distinguishes Tokyo from these Prefectures and the City of Kitakyushu, however, is that the terms of punishment become incrementally more severe if teachers repeat the so-called "offences." Tokyo distinguishes itself by inflicting the most extreme punishment on its teachers.

If a teacher does not stand up for the singing of "Kimigayo" for the first "offence," he/she is reprimanded, which involves suspension of a raise for three months. If the same teacher does not stand up a second time, his/her monthly salary is reduced by one-tenth for one month. If the same teacher does not stand up a third time, his/her monthly salary is reduced by one-tenth for six months. If the same teacher commits a fourth "offence," he/she is suspended for one month. The fifth "offence" brings a three-month suspension, and the sixth "offence" triggers a six-month suspension. Since the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education has announced that "the longest period of suspension is six-months," the next stage of punishment would be a dismissal from the teaching position entirely.

In 1994, I lowered the "Hinomaru" flag set for the ceremonies. In 2002, I organized lessons addressing the issue of the "comfort women" whom the Japanese military had exploited during WWII. My actions precipitated attacks from all directions, and I was punished on each occasion. By the time the "10.23 directive" was dispatched, I was receiving a reduced salary for three months. But I continued to choose not to stand up for the singing of "Kimigayo," and my sitting down at a graduation ceremony in March 2007 brought me a punishment of six-month suspension. I have no intention of standing up at a graduation ceremony in March 2008, and I suspect this will bring me a dismissal from teaching altogether.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education justifies its measures by saying that if there were teachers or staff members who do not stand up for "Kimigayo", the children would think that they did not need to stand up, either, and if every one of the teachers and staff members stood up and sang the song, the children would do the same. They say that this is a form of "intangible education." I would argue that "intangible education" moves away from the purpose of education which has to do with fostering the pursuit of knowledge and thinking. In its stead, children are being taught to assimilate whatever they are presented with, without thinking. What the Board is in effect doing is announcing that it has embarked on a policy of mind-control. This amounts to completely undermining the children's rights and the democratic principles of our society.

From the late 1930s, when Japan charged into the war of aggression, through to the end of the war and our defeat, Japan's schools turned into places where brainwashed children were produced who thought nothing of "offering their lives for their country." With this experience as a bitter lesson, people have been organizing protests, however modest they may have been, that are motivated by our determination not to make the same mistakes again.
I am one of those people who believe in not repeating the same mistakes. That is why I choose not to be a party to this scheme that deprives children of capacity to think and tries to brainwash them. As someone who has chosen teaching to be my profession, my conscience does not allow me to obey administrative orders that are unreasonable, even if my disobedience will result in my dismissal from the teaching profession altogether.

While on suspension, I have gone to the school where I would have been teaching. I have stood in front of the school gates and remained there until my work hours would have been over. I argue that I have not done anything wrong. I argue that it is the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education that has done something very wrong. I wish to work. I have every intention of working. These are my sincerest wishes, and they drive me to act the way I do.

Committee to Stop Firing of Nezu, Kawarai

Ms. Kawarai &Ms. Nezu

Introduction

Blog Archive

Petition

An Urgent Letter-sending Campaign

Sailing

Against Coercion－-Refusing to Stand for "Kimigayo"

2/21/2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

2/20/2008

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

2/15/2008

Report by Kimiko Nezu on her visits to Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, February 1st to 14th, 2008

2/14/2008

Thursday, February 14, 2008

2/13/2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

2/01/2008

Please Join an Urgent Phoning and Letter-Sending Campaign

message from Kimiko Nezu

Acknowledgement