hankyoreh

Takahashi Tetsuya, Professor of Philosophy, Tokyo University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

The Tokyo District Court reached an important decision about Japan’s flag (the Hinomaru) and national anthem (the kimi gayo). Like the Yasukuni Shrine and Japan’s perceptions of history, both are questions that hang over the country as shadows of imperial Japan. These questions are now a major subject of debate in Japanese society. Both the flag and anthem were once symbols of the empire, and were used at school events from early on under the postwar "peace constitution" and the Basic Law on Education. There has been continued confrontation between bureaucrats at the education ministry and local boards of education, who are trying to make the flag and anthem a part of the curriculum, and students and teachers, who reject the flag and anthem because of their history of use during periods of war and colonization.

In Tokyo in the 1980s, the atmosphere at school entrance and graduation ceremonies was one of freedom. Towards the end of the 1990s, however, things began to change significantly. Nationalist Shintaro Ishihara became Tokyo’s governor, new laws were passed on the flag and anthem, and in 2003 the city’s education commission issued a directive ordering teachers to face the flag and sing the anthem or face disciplinary punishment. Over 400 teachers decided to face the consequences and refused to stand for the anthem.

When faced with disciplinary action, these teachers went to court, asking that it affirm the fact they are not obligated to follow the education commission’s directive, and the court agreed. "We did not even expect there was one percent of a possibility we would lose," said one education official, while a teacher said the decision was "like a dream" and "unbelievable." Both sides were quite surprised. Does that not show you to what degree educational freedom lacks respec in today’s Japan, and how it is considered a matter of course that the will of those in power will be honored by subordinates?

According to the court, forcing people to stand and sing the national anthem infringes on freedom of thought and conscience as guaranteed by Article 19 of the constitution and is a violation of the Basic Law on Education’s prohibition on "wrongful control." Its decision notes that the flag and anthem were together a "spiritual pillar" of militarism and that they "cannot be considered to represent neutral values." It said the authorities had gone too far, as the government had to step in to protect the freedom of thought and conscience for the minority. The court’s viewpoint was very true to the principles of democracy and constitutionalism.

The judgment did not negate the legitimacy of holding ceremonies in which the anthem is performed. "It is important that [students] gain a proper view of the flag and state and come to possess an attitude of respect," the court decision reads. The court also said it is "meaningful" to have the flag and anthem a part of school entrance and graduation ceremonies. It also says that no one can be allowed to obstruct the signing of the anthem toward the flag or to encourage others to refuse to participate, as that, too, would infringe on freedom of thought and conscience. In other words, the court said it was not recognizing the legitimacy of forcing teachers to participate.

Japanese society still thinks of this decision - common sense in the context of the constitution or the Basic Law on Education - like a "dream," "exceptional," "landmark," and "historic." And now a new government is being inaugurated, one that has pledged to revise the same constitution and laws on education.

Presently in Japan, it is possible to have a court judgment say it is illegal to force people to stand before the flag and sing the anthem. But if an amendment to the constitution is passed that allows for stronger control over the country’s rights and freedoms, and the Basic Law on Education is revised in a way that changes the "ownership" of education from the people to the government and its administrators, that scenario will no longer be possible. In that case, will not the dream of democracy become even more distant?

However, there is still a minority in Japan that has resolved itself to face the legal consequences and protest against being forced to participate in ceremonies involving the Japanese flag and national anthem; there remains a campaign to support their cause, and there are still judgements being handed down like this latest one. There is still hope.