 Stop intruding into schools In complete disregard of growing protests against the punishment of teachers who refused to sing "Kimigayo" at attention in front of the "Hinomaru" flag at school ceremonies, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education held a correctional training session on August 2 ostensibly to prevent such non-compliance from recurring. At a news conference following the "retraining session", teachers demanding nullification of their punishment said that the retraining session had nothing to do with the national flag or the national anthem. A teacher said, "The only thing we were told in the session was to respect the rules and regulations. The lecturer mentioned nothing about Hinomaru or Kimigayo. We were not allowed to ask questions. The Japanese Communist Party Metropolitan Assembly Members Group issued a comment on the same day in protest against the "correctional retraining session". The JCP urged the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education to respect the principles set out in the Constitution and the Fundamental Law of Education and stop interference in schools. (end) |