Committee to Stop Firing of Nezu, Kawarai: September 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

*****************************************

To Superintendent of the Office of Education of TMBE.

To Chairperson of the Office of Education of TMBE.

To President of JTU.

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"

9/06/2008

The Letters from Los Angels Country Federation of Labor

message from Kimiko Nezu

Acknowledgement