education

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Educational meeting calls for national discussion on children and education

More than 10,000 teachers, students, and parents participated in the National Meeting for Educational Study which was held for 4 days from August 18 in Osaka.

The organizing committee, made up of various organizations, including the All Japan Teachers and Staff Union (Zenkyo) and the New Japan Women's Association, sponsored the meeting. This annual event was held during summer vacation this year for the first time in order to have a wide range of participants.

The theme of this year's meeting was "Let us join forces to promote education based on the Constitution, the Fundamental Law of Education, and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child."

Ishimoto Iwao, representative of the organizing committee and Zenkyo chair, said, "Let us organize a national discussion on children and education." He called on the participants to use this coming general election as an opportunity to reaffirm the significance of the Constitution and the Fundamental Law of Education.

On the last day of the meeting, forums were held on 10 different themes, including learning skills, juvenile crimes, children's safety, and culture. -- Akahata, August 19, 22, 2005