By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Aug 5 2004 (IPS)

Nearly 60 years after it renounced the militarism of the 1930s and 40s, at the end of World War II, Japan still cannot decide what kind of country it wants to be. And this has manifested itself in the current row over the singing of the national anthem in schools.

Recently a group of nearly 250 Tokyo teachers were ordered to attend ‘re-education’ sessions after refusing to sing Japan’s national anthem at the end of the school year.

Many of the symbols of the disastrous era of military rule still survive in Japan – the emperor, the flag and the national anthem – but their exact status has been left deliberately vague.

It was only in 1999 that the ancient poem ‘Kimigayo’ calling for the reign of the emperor to last “for all eternity” was formally declared the official national anthem once again, as it had been before the war. But many Japanese still object to it.

However the Tokyo city government decided to disregard public opinion and this year enforced playing ‘Kimigayo’ at the beginning and end of the school year.

Yasunao Hoshino, 50, a public school teacher at Toritsu Hoya High School in the capital is one of the 250 teachers ordered by education authorities to follow a series of ‘re-education’ programmes this month aimed at teaching them to be responsible public servants.

Hoshino, who teaches health studies, explains she has long considered standing up to the national anthem a deep blow to her staunch commitment to pacifism and respect for individual freedom.

”It was not an easy decision to sit in my chair as the school principal ordered everyone at the end of the year graduation to stand up and sing the national anthem,” she tells IPS.

”I had a sick feeling in my stomach but I just could not follow orders that are against what I believe in so deeply,” explains Hoshino.

Among the 50 teachers attending the end of the year graduation ceremony, there were three rebels and Hoshino was one of them.

The three rebel teachers were whisked out of the hall, where the graduation ceremony was being held, by school inspectors who had been specially sent by the Tokyo City administration to watch out for teachers who refused to stand when the national anthem was played.

Reprimanded teachers also reported that their salaries were reduced. Some said they faced constant verbal abuse from their superiors and that forced them to quit their jobs.

On Jul 16, 137 teachers filed the an injunction against the forced training programme as well as a civil suit seeking 100 U.S. dollars in damages per person.

While the Tokyo District Court turned down the request for the injunction saying the specifics of the programme were unclear, it said, ”should an identical training program be forced repeatedly (on teachers) and their freedom of thought infringed, it may violate the Constitution or law.”

Amid tight security, 45 teachers accompanied by their school principals, attended the first ‘training session’ in the morning.

At a press conference later, English teacher, Toru Kondo who attended the programme, said they were forced to sit at desks and told to write down why they did not stand up for the national anthem.

”There were scheduled lectures for us which did not occur. Many of us did not write down anything as ordered. We left with a warning that we could face punishment again,” Kondo told reporters.

Lawyer Bunya Kato, who is appearing for the teachers, says the controversial training programme is usually ordered by the authorities for teachers who have been accused of sexual harassment or have alcohol problems.

”The fact that the same program is ordered for teachers who oppose standing up for the national anthem, is clear violation of an individual’s right to have his or her own beliefs,” points out Kato.

”It is a form of coerced patriotism and smacks of the war period when citizens were controlled by the military government,” he tells IPS.

Experts say the case is clear illustration of the clash between individual rights and the duty of public servants who are expected to follow the state – the later deeply ingrained in the Japanese psyche.

”The dispute also touches a raw nerve in Japan for it puts the spotlight on the country’s war time responsibilities that has been a taboo subject in post-war education,” says former school principal Kiyoshi Tanifuji in an interview.

Indeed, Japanese school teachers have traditionally played the role of being the rare voices that taught students the darker aspects of their Imperial past.

Ignoring public school text books that restrict a thorough debate on Japan’s responsibility during World War II, school teachers have pushed the values of pacifism and national repentance much to the consternation of influential conservatives.

Japanese conservative hardliners argue that this stance adopted by many teachers would leave the younger generation without a shared national identity.

Professor Motohiro Kondo, who teachers cultural studies at Nihon University says while teachers have the right to their beliefs, there is “little understanding of their role in society today as most people have no time for too much controversy.”

Indeed, this is exactly the situation that teachers are worried about.

”I am not expecting my students to not stand up for the national anthem. I only want them to have an education that makes sure my students have the freedom to make their own decisions. The authorities cannot stop me,” says teacher Hoshino.

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