Japan Press Weekly

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2016 August 17 - 23 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Teachers & parents call to fight to protect freedom of education

Under the slogan “Let’s pursue education based on the Japanese Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”, the National Meeting for Educational Study took place in Shizuoka Prefecture from August 19 to 21. It was attended by about 5,000 people, including teachers and parents.

This annual meeting was hosted by an organizing committee consisting of 24 civic groups, including teachers’ unions.

Kanisawa Shozo, chair of the All Japan Teachers and Staff Union (Zenkyo), delivered a speech representing the organizing committee. Noting that citizens’ cooperation opposing the unconstitutional national security legislation has increased since last year, he called for participants to demand an education system which will really help each child to realize their full potential, and for them to work together to foil Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s attempt to use school education to turn Japan into a nation capable of fighting in wars.

In a panel discussion about moral education, which was held as a part of the national meeting, panelists talked about the Abe government plan to force public elementary and junior high schools to teach ethics as an official subject.

Hosei University Professor Sanuki Hiroshi, one of the panelists, noted that the primary purpose of moral education is to establish human dignity and fundamental human rights. He condemned the Abe administration for violating people’s human rights, including their right to work, by implementing neo-liberal policies.

Another panelist, elementary school teacher Adachi Toshiko, warned that by upgrading ethical training to a required school subject, the government is aiming to force a particular sense of values on children and take away educational freedom. She stressed that a child’s personality should not be ranked on the basis of a grade.

An art teacher from Hachijo-jima Island in Tokyo said, “Art represents a person’s feelings. What is important in education is to encourage children to express themselves and voice their opinions freely.”

At a press conference following the three-day event, representatives of the organizing committee issued a statement calling for the protection of freedom of education.