The Department of East Asian Studies - Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna - u:japan lectures - Greg Poole: "In the Shadow of a Mountain: A Community School Coordinator and the Politics of Survival in Rural Japan"

I am very happy to pass on this announcement about a lecture by my friend and colleague, Greg Poole, from Doshisha University:

CLICK on the photos to get a clear image to read.

| Date & Time |

u:japan lecture | s12e08
Thursday 2026-05-28, 18:00~19:30 (CET, UTC +1h)
***This is 1:00 - 2:30 AM on Friday, 2026-05-29 in Japan***

| Place |

LIVE @ Campus of the University of Vienna 18:00~19:30 (CET, UTC +1h)
Department of East Asian Studies, Japanese Studies
Seminarraum JAP 1, 2K-EG-21, Ground floor to the left
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.4 (Campus), 1090 Vienna, Austria

| Platform & Link |

https://univienna.zoom.us/j/65583867108?pwd=rydxHuWoGcGIV6FFJdrLghDwpucRHd.1
Meeting-ID: 655 8386 7108 | Passcode: 794196
This lecture will not be recorded.

For more information: https://japanologie.univie.ac.at/startseite/einzelnews/news/in-the-shadow-of-a-mountain-a-community-school-coordinator-and-the-politics-of-survival-in-rural-ja/

"The Journey Towards Inclusive Bilingual Sign Language Schools - Case Study of Meisei Gakuen"

Posted by Visual Anthropology of Japan on Thursday, February 11, 2021

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Wfdeaf.org

Deaf Documentary on NHK: "A World of Boisterous Silence"

Screen grab and text from NHK World - Japan.

NHK WORLD PRIME
A World of Boisterous Silence

Broadcast on September 29, 2018

Children who cannot hear learn through sign language at Meisei Gakuen, a school in Tokyo. Their small hands weave together many words. With no narration, the program explores the children's silent, vibrant world and the lives of alumni. The children's eyes sparkle as they recite, in sign language, the poem "The Song of Spring" from their textbook. They do not use their voices. But as we watch the silent recitation, the fresh early spring breeze caresses our cheeks, and tiny veronica flowers bloom in profusion before our eyes. For many decades, Japan's schools for the deaf gave priority to adapting to a society where hearing people are the majority. But at Meisei Gakuen, students are encouraged to embrace their deafness. We turn our eyes to that "boisterous world of silence" and perspectives on Japanese society, as seen by alumni of the school.

Available until October 13, 2018

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/vod/worldprime/3016028/

Of the 90 or so deaf schools in Japan, Meisei Gakuen is the only one that uses Japanese Sign Language (JSL) as its language of instruction. The school has a bicultural (Deaf/Japanese) and bilingual approach (JSL and Japanese) to education. Teachers are both Deaf and hearing. I have visited the school once and found the environment to be very different from other deaf schools that employ oral methods. Please check out this film while it is still available on-line.

Thanks to my former student Bryce for the heads up on this!

"Universities asked to raise flag, sing national anthem at ceremonies"

Text from Japan Today, 6/17/15:

State-run universities were urged on Tuesday to raise the national flag and sing the national anthem at entrance and graduation ceremonies, as well as other events.

Education minister Hakubun Shimomura made the suggestion at a meeting of the presidents of national universities in Tokyo.

Shimomura said hoisting the Hinomaru flag and singing the “Kimigayo” have long been customary at public schools and are widely expected by the public. However, universities have been divided on the issue.

Shimomura added that his request does not impinge on a university’s freedom and that it is up to each institution to make an appropriate decision.

Some critics say Japan’s anthem amounts to a call to sacrifice oneself for the emperor and celebrates militarism. Numerous battles over the years have seen teachers clash with school administrators over the issue.

In April, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in the Diet that public schools and universities are funded by tax money and that raising the national flag and standing to sing the anthem at ceremonies should be done.

Last month, the Tokyo District Court awarded 537 million yen in compensation to 22 former high school teachers who were punished for refusing to sing the “Kimigayo.”

The group said the city refused to rehire them under a scheme that extends employment past the retirement age, because they disobeyed orders to stand and sing the anthem at graduation ceremonies.

In 2012, the supreme court ruled that penalising teachers for not standing to sing the anthem was constitutional, but it warned administrators to exercise care in going beyond a reprimand.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/universities-asked-to-raise-flag-sing-national-anthem-at-ceremonies

Read the extensive comments by readers of this article.

And please see the film, Against Coercion, and this VAOJ post, for context that goes greatly under-reported in the media.

Visual Anthropology Programs Along the Pacific Rim

The American Anthropological Association begins its annual meetings on Tuesday, November 13 in San Francisco. There are hundreds and hundreds of scheduled papers, presentations, workshops, etc. VAOJ will be participating in a round table discussion about visual anthropology programs along the Pacific Rim. Discussions will address topics such as various university program's core ethos (MA or BA, theoretical vs. applied, etc.), student demographics served, any trends in student interests, any notable projects, current challenges, and future directions. Essentially, it will be a 'snapshot' of programs in the region. The round table will be on Friday, November 16, 1:45 - 5:30 PM. Check it out.

Link to AAA 2012 Conference Program: http://aaa.confex.com/aaa/2012/webprogrampreliminary/start.html

Osaka Mayor Hashimoto Does It Again... And Again. He's Cutting Funding to Human Rights Museum, Korean Schools, Bunraku, etc....

Those living in Osaka, Japan or anywhere else need to know what the current mayor of Osaka is doing based upon his own preferences and desired images of Japanese culture. This is especially true as his power grows and his local group becomes a national political party.

Hashimoto is cutting funding to Liberty Osaka, the only human rights museum in Japan. Why? Tessa Morris-Suzuki writes in her recent Japan Focus article (9/3/12):

The Osaka city government has until now provided a crucial part of the museum's funding, but the current city government, headed by mayor Hashimoto Tōru, has decided to halt this funding from next year, on the grounds that the museum displays are ‘limited to discrimination and human rights’ and fail to present children with an image of the future full of ‘hopes and dreams’ (Mainichi Shinbun 25 July 2012).

See the whole article: "Out With Human Rights, In With Government-Authored History: The Comfort Women and the Hashimoto Prescription for a ‘New Japan’"

Link: http://japanfocus.org/-Tessa-Morris_Suzuki/3818

Hashimoto has cut funding for Korean schools in Osaka. Why? Among other reasons, according to a recent Japan Times article (9/2/12), he doesn't like Korean schools displaying portraits of Kim Jong Il:

In March 2010, then-Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto announced the prefecture would stop paying subsidies to Korean schools that refuse to meet four criteria, including the removal of portraits of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

The Osaka Prefectural Government stopped paying subsidies to one of the corporation's high schools in the 2010 academic year after determining it did not meet the provisions. It ended payments to most of the operator's elementary and junior high schools in the following school year because Kim's portrait adorned faculty rooms. For the current fiscal year, the prefecture didn't even allocate a budget for the subsidies. Meanwhile, the Osaka Municipal Government cut off subsidies to the schools when Hashimoto became mayor in 2011.

See the whole article: "Osaka faces Korean subsidy suits"

Link: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120902a7.html

Hashimoto is cutting funding for Bunraku puppets (an art form originating in Osaka). Why? According to a recent Mainichi article (7/27/12), he didn't like the performance:

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who recently declared he would freeze subsidies to an association for Bunraku, a centuries-old form of puppet theater, expressed his dissatisfaction with a Bunraku show he saw on July 26, describing the performance as "unsatisfactory."

"I understood that this is an art that should be preserved as a classic (art form), but the last scene was plain, and lacked something," Hashimoto told reporters after watching "Sonezaki Shinju" (The love suicides at Sonezaki), a classic play based on the work of renowned 17th-18th century dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon, at the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka's Chuo Ward on the evening of July 26.

"The staging was unsatisfactory," the mayor added in his comment on the play, which has not been changed since it was reintroduced to the public in 1955. "Does it really have to follow the old script that precisely?"

See the whole article: "Osaka mayor Hashimoto calls classic Japanese play 'unsatisfactory'"

Link: http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120727p2a00m0na006000c.html

Granted, Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City have terrible budget problems. But these cuts and others seem to be done by the whims and personal views of Hashimoto. These budget cuts, along with his witch-hunt for city employees with tattoos and his insistence of standing for the Japanese flag and national anthem provide insight into this man and the kind of changes he wants to do in the creation of his image/view of Japan.

Journalist Hiroshi Iwaisako provides more information about Hashimoto and perhaps his rationale for budget cuts and other actions in a recent article at Nippon.com (7/24/12); his report/perspective is more serious/formal than other descriptions of Hashimoto that have appeared in other sources.

See the article: "What to Make of Hashimoto Tōru?"

Link: http://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a01103/

See also: "Hashimoto sets new national party, names it Nihon Ishin no Kai" by Eric Johnston (9/9/12)

Link: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120909a1.html

As for tattoos, Hashimoto might benefit from reading this article: "Top Arizona court rules tattooing is protected speech" (9/7/12)

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48948732/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.UE1RGxhhNFQ

People need to know what Hashimoto is doing along with his so-called rationale. Is this what we want for the future of Japan?

Link to Liberty Osaka Human Rights Museum: http://www.liberty.or.jp/topfile/human-top.htm

"Deaf student qualifies to teach English in Nagoya"

Thanks to GH for calling this to my attention. Photo and story borrowed from The Japan Times Online.

A deaf student at Nagoya Gakuin University who obtained a license to teach English to students with impaired hearing graduated on March 15.

Misato Fujiwara, 23, will start teaching at Aichi Prefectural Nagoya School for the Aurally Disabled in Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, on Wednesday.

Fujiwara wore a traditional "hakama" outfit to the graduation ceremony at Nagoya Congress Center in Atsuta Ward.

"I like wearing the outfit because I can feel myself straightening up," she said.

All speeches and announcements during the ceremony were interpreted in sign language for Fujiwara.

When the university's president, Hisao Kibune, said in his address that "what makes a difference in your life are courage and willingness to change," she nodded her approval.

When she was interviewed after the ceremony, she introduced herself in fluent English: "My name is Misato Fujiwara. I love English!"

At the time she enrolled, the freshman was the only deaf student at the university and told the faculty she wanted to study in exactly the same way as the other students. In response, the faculty introduced a "note-taker system" to allow other students to take lecture notes for her.

"The most difficult thing was to look for a student who could help me. Other than that, I didn't feel myself to be disabled," Fujiwara said.

As a sophomore, she met an English-language teacher who also had hearing difficulties and became determined to take a similar path, hoping "to teach deaf students the fun of learning English."

She earned enough credits to graduate after four years, but extended her studies by another year to obtain a teaching license.

"She is a great student and seems like she doesn't feel disabled," a university official said.

While studying English sign language, Fujiwara also practiced pronunciation, repeatedly trying out words until she mastered the correct form.

Her determined efforts were rewarded when she passed the teaching exam.

"As I am deaf myself, I would like to move forward with my students by putting myself in their shoes," said Fujiwara.

"They can't hear but if they have a strong will to communicate, they will be understood in English, too."

Link: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120407cc.html

It should be noted, and not to belittle any accomplishment, that other deaf people have become English teachers as well. I tutored one such woman in English pronunciation as she had failed that part of the test before. Yes, even deaf people who want to teach English to deaf students have to be tested in English pronunciation in order to get their teaching license. Ultimately she was able to pass the speaking part of the test by using a microphone to amplify her voice. While her pronunciation was perfect, her voice was weak and hard to hear. She is now a teacher at a deaf school.

"Osaka teacher who refused to stand for anthem loses job"

And the local Osaka saga continues... From The Mainichi Daily News, 3/25/12:

A 61-year-old male teacher who refused to stand up during the singing of the "Kimigayo" national anthem at a graduation ceremony at an Osaka prefectural high school in February has been notified that his services are no longer required, local education officials said Saturday.

The teacher, who had been rehired by the school after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60, was highly evaluated by the school principal, who gave him the second highest competence rating. Nonetheless, he became the first teacher to be effectively sacked among a group of teachers at public high schools in Osaka Prefecture who were reprimanded earlier this month for similar behavior, a civic group said.

Accusing the prefectural education board of using the dismissal as a warning to others, the group opposes the compulsory gesture of respect for the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo, which critics say symbolizes Japan's past imperialism and militarism. It plans to hold a meeting next week to consider filing a lawsuit over a series of punishments for teachers over the matter.

The issue stems from an ordinance that obliges teachers and school staff to stand and sing the Kimigayo. It was approved last June by the Osaka prefectural assembly to develop a spirit of patriotism among students, when current Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was governor.

The teacher concerned, who was rehired last April, had been informally told in February that he could keep his position for the coming academic year, but on Monday received a written notice from the education board that the arrangement was being terminated. He is considering filing a complaint with the prefectural personnel committee, he and others said.

Among those reprimanded, seven other teachers were expecting to be rehired next April, but the education board said it is now considering what to do with them.

Link: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120325p2g00m0dm001000c.html

If you haven't been following this story at VAOJ, you can start here and work your way back.

"City of Osaka passes 'Kimigayo' ordinance"

From The Daily Yomiuri Online, 3/1/12:

The Osaka City Assembly has passed an ordinance to oblige teachers to stand up and sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at school ceremonies.

A bill for the ordinance was submitted by Mayor Toru Hashimoto to the assembly on Tuesday, the opening day of its session. In addition to Osaka Ishin no Kai, which has a majority in the assembly and is led by Hashimoto, New Komeito and the Liberal Democratic Party supported the bill after seeking revisions to part of it.

The ordinance obliges all teachers and workers in the city's public schools to stand up and sing "Kimigayo" at school ceremonies. It also obliges the city's public facilities to fly the Hinomaru national flag at all times.

The Osaka Prefectural Assembly passed a similar ordinance last June, when Hashimoto was governor. At that time, there was no other such ordinance in the nation.

Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120229005537.htm

Last VAOJ coverage of this issue: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2012/02/8-osaka-teachers-to-be-punished-for.html

"8 Osaka teachers to be punished for refusal to sing national anthem"

From Japan Today, 2/25/12:

The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education has revealed that eight teachers in the prefecture declined to stand and sing the Japanese national anthem at high school graduation ceremonies which took place on Friday.

The reports come days after the Supreme Court dismissed two suits from 375 teachers and educational professionals requesting a ban on the enforced singing of the “Kimigayo,” Japan’s national anthem, in schools. The court earlier this month ruled 4-1 that such orders are constitutional.

The issue of enforced singing of the Japanese national anthem has long been a contentious one, with many teachers refusing to stand and sing the song at school. In some cases, dissenting teachers received reprimands, pay cuts or were suspended.

The court ruled that ordering teachers to sing the “Kimigayo” did not violate their freedom of thought, which was the basis for the plaintiffs’ claim, NTV reported.

Speaking to reporters after the graduation ceremonies, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said, “Perhaps these people mistakenly think they have the right to continue as public servants no matter what they do. I’d like to see an end put to this behavior.”

According to NTV, the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education said that the eight employees in question would be dealt with according to the law.

Earlier this month, a proposal was put forward at the national assembly to introduce a law whereby an education professional refusing to sing the national anthem for the third time would be subject to dismissal. The board added that if the law is approved, the eight teachers involved in this month’s incident could eventually face dismissal.

Link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/8-osaka-teachers-face-punishment-over-refusal-to-sing-national-anthem

Last VAOJ post on this subject (once again, oh Lord when will this end?): http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2012/02/supreme-court-rules-making-teachers.html

Somewhat related:

Osaka gov't workers' emails screened for evidence of union, political involvement

Link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/osaka-govt-workers-emails-screened-for-evidence-of-union-political-involvement

Ishihara agrees with Nagoya mayor's Nanjing massacre denial

Link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/ishihara-agrees-with-nagoya-mayors-nanjing-massacre-denial

"Supreme Court rules making teachers sing 'Kimigayo' is constitutional"

When will these "updates" end? From today's Japan Today:

The Supreme Court has dismissed two suits from 375 teachers and educational professionals requesting a ban on the enforced singing of the “Kimigayo,” Japan’s national anthem, in schools. The court ruled 4-1 that such orders are constitutional.

The issue has long been a contentious one with teachers who refused to stand and sing the “Kimigayo” at school. In many cases, dissenting teachers received reprimands, pay cuts or were suspended.

In announcing the decision Thursday, the court upheld last year’s Tokyo High Court decision that confirmed the constitutionality of enforced singing of the anthem in schools, and refused to ban the act of obliging children and staff to do so, TBS reported.

The court ruled that ordering teachers to sing the “Kimigayo” did not violate their freedom of thought, which was the basis for the plaintiffs’ claim.

Link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/supreme-court-rules-making-teachers-sing-kimigayo-is-constitutional

Last VAOJ post on this subject: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2012/01/stand-in-place-where-you-work-as.html

Stand! In the place where you work (as ordered)...

Stand in the place where you live
Now face north
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before

Now stand in the place where you work
Now face west
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven't before

If you are confused, check with the sun
Carry a compass to help you along
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around

("Stand" by R.E.M. from the album Green released in 1988)

I doubt R.E.M. was thinking about Japan, the Hinomaru and Kimigayo when they wrote this song. Perhaps it is time for a re-make of the video featuring the Hinomaru flag in the background with Tokyo Govenor Ishihara Shintaro and Osaka Mayor Hashimoto Toru singing and dancing.

VAOJ has long been following the lawsuits of teachers who refused to stand for the national anthem and flag at school ceremonies. There have been a few updates recently.

Top court calls for care in punishing teachers over flag, anthem

(from The Mainichi Daily News,1/17/12)

The Supreme Court on Monday nullified some punishments meted out to current and former Tokyo public school teachers for refusing to stand for the hoisting of the Hinomaru national flag or to sing the "Kimigayo" anthem at school events, saying careful consideration is required.

"In choosing a punishment greater than a reprimand, such as a pay cut or a greater punishment, careful consideration is needed," Presiding Justice Seishi Kanetsuki of the top court's First Petty Bench said in delivering rulings on three lawsuits brought by around 170 plaintiffs seeking nullification of their punishments.

The court annulled the suspension from work of one plaintiff and the pay cut for another, saying such punishments amounted to an abuse of power and were therefore illegal.

However, the court found the suspension from work of one plaintiff and reprimands meted out to the remaining plaintiffs were appropriate.

The decision concerned three suits filed by current and former teachers and other staff members at public schools run by the Tokyo metropolitan government.

Last year, the Supreme Court found constitutional school principals' orders requiring teachers at school events to stand up for the raising of the national flag and to sing "Kimigayo," but said such orders indirectly restrict a person's freedom of belief and conscience.

Monday's ruling called for care when punishing teachers for not following those orders.

The ruling could also have an impact on debate in the Osaka prefectural assembly over a proposal calling for a "three strikes and you're out" rule to dismiss school teachers who repeatedly defy principals' orders to stand up and sing "Kimigayo." The proposal has been advocated by a regional political party, the Osaka Restoration Association, led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto. 

Link to entire story:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120117p2g00m0dm038000c.html

Japan Focus has an informative post about this recent development as well (1/22/12).

Japan's Supreme Court Limits National Anthem Punishments for Teachers

Link: http://japanfocus.org/events/view/125

And here's more...

Osaka mayor orders officials to bow to flag

(from The Daily Yomiuri Online, 1/23/12)

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has instructed high-ranking officials of the city government to always bow to the Hinomaru national flag as they take a seat in the municipal assembly's main conference hall and when replying to questions when the assembly is session, it has been learned. 

Hashimoto e-mailed the instruction earlier this month to bureau chiefs who sit on the platform of the conference hall during the assembly's deliberations. 

Titled "Paying homage to the national flag at the conference hall," the mayor's e-mail read, "You are asked to bow to the flag when seating yourself on the platform," assembly sources said. 

The e-mail also said senior city officials were required to bow their heads to the national flag every time they step on the hall's platform or respond to a question posed during assembly deliberations, they said. 

Furthermore, the instructions said officials must bow to the flag again when deliberations are resumed after a recess, according to the sources. 

Hashimoto has expressed his intention to present a draft ordinance in the coming assembly session in February that will call for the national flag to always be hoisted at the municipal government's facilities.

Link to story:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120122003982.htm

Mastering Manners

In today's Daily Yomiuri Online (1/27/12) there is a story about manners and the proper way to bow. Here is an interesting quote:

Japanese etiquette was developed during the era of the samurai, when strict relationships between superiors and subordinates were a key part of class-based societies. The tradition has been passed from generation to generation, but some people today may find its practice cumbersome.

"The idea behind Japanese etiquette is to use actions to express your deep feelings for other people," Kondo says. "As long as you acquire the basics, you can act with grace and confidence, while those around you will treat you with respect."

Link to entire story:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/T120119005653.htm

Manners and etiquette through the use of body movements are for showing respect to people. Such gestures should not be forced upon people to display patriotism or national pride.

The Japanese Government Tells Its Teachers to Stand Up and Sing!

For the last few semesters in the Visual Anthropology class we have watched the documentary film, Against Coercion: Refusing to Stand for Kimigayo (2006) produced by Japanese filmmakers Akira Matsubara and Yumi Sasaki, primarily to identify Japanese documentary techniques. However class discussion soon turns to the problematic symbolism of Japan's national anthem and its flag, and the punishment teachers have been receiving for refusing to stand for the flag/song during school ceremonies.

Image borrowed from Japan Film Database.

Summary/Information about the film from Japan Film Database:
http://jfdb.jp/en/title/935

Important issues in the film include whether it is appropriate for the government to force teachers to stand and honor symbols that they associate with Japanese militarism and imperialism from the war era, and whether patriotism should be a part of the educational curriculum. At the conclusion of the film, the teachers win an important court battle that would seek to overturn the seemingly harsh punishments. However this is not the end of the story as ultimately the teachers lose subsequent court cases. And now the Osaka Prefectural Government has passed a law obliging teachers to stand for the flag/song. Read the following articles for more details. What do you think about these issues?

From The Daily Yomiuri Online, 1 June 2011:

Long-fought battle over 'Kimigayo' at an end / Top court calls order 'indirect constraint' of rights, but recognizes importance of school ceremonies

The Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of ordering teachers and school staff to stand and sing "Kimigayo" before the national flag finally settled an argument that has long been a source of disruption at schools.

Yet, Monday's judgment did not touch on what punishments would be appropriate for violators, leaving at least part of the controversy unresolved.

===

Battle brewed for 12 years

Fierce confrontations between the school management and some teachers and staff have raged over whether ordering school employees to stand before the Hinomaru flag and sing the national anthem at enrollment and graduation ceremonies infringes on the "freedom of thought and conscience" guaranteed by the Constitution.

Instructions to sing the anthem hardened after a principal of a prefectural high school in Hiroshima Prefecture committed suicide in 1999 after a confrontation with teachers and staff over the singing of "Kimigayo" at a graduation ceremony.

In the wake of the principal's suicide, the Diet passed the National Flag and Anthem Law in August that year, stipulating the Hinomaru as the national flag and "Kimigayo" as the national anthem. 

Thereafter, standing and singing "Kimigayo" at enrollment and graduation ceremonies became widespread, sparking fierce protests from teachers and staff who did not agree with the practice.

The Tokyo metropolitan government became the next focus of the dispute. In October 2003 the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education issued a notification to schools that teachers and staff must stand and sing the national anthem. Since then, the school board has punished teachers and staff who disobeyed orders from superiors. Teachers and staff angered by the punishments eventually filed lawsuits against the order.

According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, 1,239 teachers and school staff nationwide were disciplined or warned from fiscal 1999 to 2009 for disobeying orders to stand and sing the national anthem. The 706 people disciplined were given punishments such as suspensions and salary cuts.

===

Piano ruling paved way

A major turning point in the lawsuits over "Kimigayo" was the Supreme Court ruling in February 2007 that it is constitutional to order a music teacher to accompany the singing of the national anthem on the piano.

In its ruling, the top court presented two instances where a person's freedom of thought and conscience would be considered to have been infringed on: when a specific ideology is imposed on a person, and when a person is forced to declare a certain ideology. The court said the order to play "Kimigayo" to accompany the singing did not violate these standards and was thus constitutional.

This judgment, however, was only over the playing of the piano. In Monday's case, experts said that since standing and singing "Kimigayo" is closer to expressing one's feelings, there was room for the top court to make an additional decision.

Monday's ruling said standing and singing "Kimigayo" includes the "expression of respect" to the national flag and anthem. The ruling by the court's second petty bench recognized that for individuals who do not have respect for the national flag and anthem based on their view of history, the order to stand and sing is an "indirect constraint," even if it does not directly restrict freedom of thought and conscience by imposing an ideology.

The court gave weight to the importance of enrollment and graduation ceremonies at schools, as well as the roles of public school teachers, who as public servants must obey orders at their jobs. The ruling recognized the "necessity and rationality" of the order as exceeding any disadvantage experienced by teachers. The constraint imposed by the order was therefore permissible, the court judged.

Behind the decision is a recognition that the nation has become more global in the more than 60 years since World War II, and that people's way of thinking about the national flag and anthem has changed.
"In the international community, it is common sense that people should pay respect to other nations' national flags and anthems," presiding Justice Yukio Takeuchi said in his concurring opinion. "For [children] to acquire this sentiment, it is necessary [to learn] respect for their own country's national flag and anthem first."

As the Supreme Court's decision acknowledged the appropriateness of ordering teachers to stand and sing the national anthem, while recognizing the validity of some of the plaintiff's claims, it is safe to say that this constitutional debate has finally been settled.

===

'An appropriate judgment'

"Ordering [teachers and staff] to stand and sing 'Kimigayo' has legal basis in the National Flag and Anthem Law. The Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of the order was appropriate," said Prof. Setsu Kobayashi of Keio University, a constitutional expert.

"The ruling should be praised for explaining in detail why it was constitutional by taking the feelings of people who don't agree into consideration," he said.

He particularly praised one of the four justices' concurring opinions that said it is important to make an environment that encourages people to voluntarily express respect for the national flag and anthem.

"The ruling will force other court battles on the issue to settle," Kobayashi added.

Education expert Yukihiko Hishimura agreed that the ruling was fitting.

"The main argument in Monday's decision is the same as in the 2007 piano ruling. I think it was an appropriate ruling," he said.

Hishimura, honorary member of the National Institute for Educational Policy Research, said the ruling clarified that playing "Kimigayo" on the piano to accompany singing and singing it are basically the same thing, despite arguments that they are different kinds of official duties.

"The ruling states emphatically that instructions concerning the national flag and anthem are part of [teachers'] public education duties. The ruling should put an end to needless confrontations," Hishimura added.

Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110531004880.htm

From The Daily Yomiuri Online, 5 June 2011:

Osaka passes 'Kimigayo' rule


The Osaka Prefectural Assembly has passed the nation's first local ordinance to oblige teachers of public schools in the prefecture to stand up when "Kimigayo" is sung at school ceremonies.

The ordinance was submitted by Osaka Ishin no Kai, a regional political party that has a majority in the assembly and is led by Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto.

In Friday's vote, 56 members of Osaka Ishin no Kai, excluding the assembly speaker, voted for the ordinance, as did one Your Party member and two independents.

New Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party opposed the ordinance. A total of 48 assembly members, mainly from those parties, voted against it.

One LDP member left the assembly hall before the vote.

The ordinance obliges all teachers and workers in the prefecture's public schools, including municipal schools, to stand when "Kimigayo" is sung at school ceremonies.

It also obliges the prefecture's public facilities to fly the Hinomaru national flag at all times.
But the ordinance does not include any penalty clauses for violators.

Opponents argued that because the prefectural board of education has already instructed teachers to stand on such occasions, the ordinance was unnecessary.

The stated purpose of the ordinance is to make "working rules in schools stricter," and it stipulates that when the national anthem is sung at ceremonies of public primary, middle and high schools in the prefecture, "teachers and school officials must stand up and sing the anthem."

The ordinance also applies to teachers and school officials in municipal schools in Osaka and Sakai, though the prefectural board of education does not have authority to hire, dismiss or punish teachers and officials of the municipal schools, as the two cities have a special status as government ordinance-designated major cities.

The ordinance will likely go into effect by the end of this month.

Previously, school principals have ordered teachers and school officials who refuse to stand on such occasions to do so. Violators have been penalized under the Local Public Service Law.

But a large number of teachers have continued to refuse to stand up at school ceremonies. Hashimoto saw this as a serious problem, and the regional party proposed the local ordinance.

Hashimoto also plans to submit in September an additional local ordinance on the matter. It will establish new rules that teachers who refuse to stand up on repeated occasions will face heavier punishments, including dismissal.

Some schoolteachers and officials to be affected voiced opposition, saying that they cannot be convinced of an obligation to stand.

After the vote, Hashimoto said, "This is an epoch-making event for educational administration systems."

"We have to do what is a matter of course--teachers as members of an organization should obey the principal's job orders. It could mark the first step toward making schools ordinary entities where principals can exercise their leadership," Hashimoto said.

Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110604002911.htm

"Japan's first film university to be launched next year"

From today's Japan Today:

A vocational film school in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is set to become Japan’s first accredited university specializing in filmmaking from April next year, with the goal of becoming an academy of motion picture arts drawing students not only from Japan but other Asian countries, the school said.

‘‘We hope to make the university a major movie hub, gathering young Asians,’’ said Tadao Sato, head of the Japan Academy of Moving Images.

‘‘Making it a university was a dream of director Imamura,’’ he said, referring to the late film director Shohei Imamura, who founded the precursor to the Japan Academy.

The corporation running the vocational school plans to file an application for accreditation with the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry in late March.

Imamura, a two-time laureate of the Cannes International Film Festival Palme d’Or for ‘‘The Ballad of Narayama’’ and ‘‘The Eel,’’ launched the previous school 35 years ago.

Graduates of the school include many distinguished filmmakers, including Sang-il Lee, the director of ‘‘Hula Girls.’‘

Film academies in China and South Korea have asked for an exchange program with the school.

But progress has not been made on the proposals because the school is not an accredited institution that can transfer credits to and from other like institutions and offer scholarships.

‘‘We would be able to exchange teachers and students across borders if we become a university,’’ Sato said.

Sato has introduced Asian films to Japan through his work as a film critic.

While continuing to teach filmmaking techniques, such as camera work and the history of movies in Japan and abroad, the school plans to provide additional education needed to understand film cultures, including literature, philosophy and languages, school officials said.

The school has been enrolling 200 students a year in the acting and imaging departments.

It plans to get rid of the acting department, reducing the enrolment quota to 140 a year when it becomes a university.

"School for the deaf seeks funds to set up middle school division"

From The Daily Yomiuri Online, 4/7/09:

Meisei Gakuen--the first school for hearing-impaired children to conduct its classes entirely in Japanese Sign Language--has been raising money to establish a middle school division, which would allow its students to complete their compulsory education without changing schools.

Meisei Gakuen, located in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, opened last April after receiving accreditation from the metropolitan government. The accreditation came after the central government designated the capital a deregulated structural reform zone.

Families with deaf children had long fought for the creation of a school that would conduct its classes in the sign language they use at home. Traditionally, schools for the hearing-impaired have not used sign language, instead opting to teach lip-reading and approximated speech with the help of hearing aids.

However, this approach often can prove confusing to hearing-impaired children. One classic example is that of the lip movements for "tamago" and "tabako." Though our mouths move in the same way when pronouncing these words, their meanings are completely different--egg and tobacco, respectively.

When children are taught only to communicate through approximated sounds and lip-reading, they often find it difficult to understand what they are being taught, and spend most of their time trying to keep up with what the teacher is saying.

At Meisei Gakuen this year, there are 15 preschoolers and 28 in grade school, seven of whom are in their final year of primary school.

To apply for the establishment of a middle school division, the school must have enough capital to operate for three years, according to metropolitan government regulations. If the school wishes to begin middle school classes by next school year, it must apply by June this year. To do so, it must raise another 30 million yen.

One supporter has been the Japan East Rugby Football Union. When the final game of the All-Japan Championship was held at the end of February, players from Eastern Quiet Typhoon, a deaf rugby team, joined a group of Meisei Gakuen students to distribute leaflets soliciting contributions.

"We're completely behind the school," 24-year-old player Kosei Samejima said.

"It's hard to study under the lip-reading approach," said Keijun Sasaki, one of the school's sixth-graders. "I really hope we get a middle school."

"I have a much easier time talking with my friends in sign language," said Sasaki's classmate, Nanami Miyasaka. "I want to study with them in middle school, too."

For more on Meisei Gakuen, click here and here.

Resource: Japan Society and About Japan

More resources for visual anthropologists, from Japan Society. The first is Japan Society's general web page; the second is a linked and sponsored resource dedicated to k-12 education.

Here is Japan Society's own overview from their web page:

Japan Society is the premier producer of high-quality content on Japan for the United States, offering over one hundred events annually in the performing and visual arts, business and policy sector, and education fields, as well as publications and online forums. Over the course of more than a century, Japan Society has evolved into an internationally recognized nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that provides access to information on Japan, offers opportunities to experience Japanese culture, and fosters sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia.

Link to Japan Society:
http://www.japansociety.org/

Here is a description for "About Japan" from their web page:

This site provides educators and specialists in Japan Studies a space for sharing, discussing and developing teaching ideas and resources about Japan, especially as they relate to K-12 classrooms. The site features thought-provoking essays; classroom-ready lesson plans; an area for asking and answering questions; resources including historical documents, maps and images; and member profiles. In addition to user-generated content, the editorial team will develop original materials organized around a theme. The first theme is “Imperial Japan.” We invite you to contribute materials of your own and join the discussion.

Link to About Japan: A Teacher's Resource:
http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/index.cfm

"Japanese Sign Language Education Gets Official Nod"

(article from The Asahi Shimbun, 4/11/08, by Mika Omura)

You can click on the link above to get to the official Asahi Shimbun story, but I am providing the whole article below because it is an incredibly important step for deaf people, deaf students and the recognition of JSL as a real bona fide language in Japan. (Also, I'm not sure how long the link will work...) The declining birthrate in Japan of course means that there are fewer deaf children as well. So many deaf schools are scheduled to close. There are plans to merge schools for deaf, blind and other so-called handicapped children. This can be seen as a terrible blow for deaf culture, as deaf schools are a major place for children to pick up sign language and deaf culture. How are children who cannot hear and children who cannot see study and learn together? But for now let's celebrate this good news...

A school that will use sign language to teach deaf children, the first of its kind in Japan, opened Wednesday in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.

The school is the brainchild of the Tokyo-based Bilingual Bicultural Education Center for Deaf Children (BBED), a nonprofit organization whose members are deaf people and parents of deaf children. The group gathered donations from around the nation to fund the project.

The group recognizes sign language, especially Japanese sign language, which has long been unofficially used by deaf people in Japan to communicate, as the "mother tongue" of people with hearing disabilities.

The group previously provided bilingual and bicultural deaf education in a free school called Tatsunoko Gakuen, which it operated until March out of a rented classroom at Asamadai Elementary School in Shinagawa Ward. It is now closed.

For many years, the conventional approach to teaching children with hearing loss focused on "oral" deaf education. The goal was to use auditory technology, including hearing aids, to boost hearing, develop listening skills and teach children to speak Japanese. The aim was to enable communication with hearing people.

Students who studied at Tatsunoko Gakuen using the sign language were ineligible to receive a graduation diploma, as education based on sign language was not accepted by the education ministry.

The BBED's battle to offer education in sign language predates a March 2007 move by the government designating Tokyo as a special district for structural reform for deaf education.

Last December, BBED finally received permission to open an officially recognized school offering a bilingual-bicultural option through Japanese sign language.

The new school is called Meisei Gakuen. It uses facilities at the former Yashiokita Elementary School in Shinagawa Ward. Yashiokita was closed after the consolidation of public schools in the area.

The NPO estimated that it needed 45 million yen to start up the school. The group solicited contributions on the streets, at special events and through the Internet.

It gathered donations from about 550 individuals nationwide, raising a total of 76 million yen. Several companies also supported the cause in their corporate social responsibility activities.

The NPO received many letters of encouragement. One donor wrote: "I want to be of some help to the children." Another wrote: "I am sending a bit from my pension. I am sorry it is not much."

Tomoko Hasebe was in charge of the BBED school project.

"Of course we're grateful for the money. But more than that, we were helped by the warm encouragement. It gave us confidence that people understood our cause," Hasebe said.

Meisei Gakuen has both a preschool and elementary school. About 40 children from Tokyo and nearby prefectures such as Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa and Shizuoka are enrolled. The opening ceremony was held Wednesday.

Yasutaka Itagaki, 8, son of Keiko Itagaki, 39, entered third grade.

"It took us a long time, but we finally managed to achieve our dream of opening our own school. This is only the beginning. We will work hard to become a successful model for bilingual-bicultural education using sign language," Keiko Itagaki said.

The story, unfortunately, seems to be very under-reported in both Japanese and English news sources. The Asahi Shimbun carried it in their Kids News (???) web site.

Link to story in Japanese at Asahi Shimbun News for Kids
http://sitesearch.asahi.com/.cgi/sitesearch/sitesearch.pl?Keywords=%BC%EA%CF%C3