'Education Is 20 Thousand Percent of Coertion': Hashimoto Aims for Rule of Politics over Education

The TMEB Houi Net, a citizen's networking group for containment of unlawful moves of the Tokyo Metropolitan Education Board held a rally on July 24 at Bunkyo Kumin Center, Tokyo, with some 160 participants. The rally was to denounce two unjust rulings regarding coercion of the controversial national anthem Kimigayo at schools that were accounced by the supreme court in June and July this year and to aim at repealing of the recently-enacted ordinance of Osaka Prefecture that demands teachers of prefectural schools to stand up during the performance of Kimigayo. Since the enactment of the ordinace on June 3, the Hinomaru flags have been put up all the time at prefectural schools in Osaka. The Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto is eager to realize another coercive ordinance during the September session of Prefectural Assembly that allow the education board to dismiss teachers who disobeyed the standing-up ordinance for three times. "Hashimoto says that education is 20 thousand percent of coertion. He doesn't only impose Hinomaru and Kimigayo on perfectural schools but even aims for establishing a scheme of public education under which elected politicians decide policies and substances and schools are just to manage the implementation. Such a scheme will enable politicians to freely intervene into public education", says Hiroyuki Imae of the Hot-line against Coercion of Hinomaru and Kimigayo. (Yumi Sasaki) Photo: Mr. Hiroyuki Imae Video Clip: Press conference by protesters on July 19

「教育は2万パーセント強制」～橋下府知事の狙いは政治の教育支配

7月24日、都教委包囲ネット7・24集会が東京・文京区民センターで開催され、160人が集まった。6月7月に連続して出された最高裁の「君が代」不当判決糾弾と、6月3日に成立した大阪府の「君が代」強制条例撤廃が集会のテーマだ。大阪では条例成立後、すべての府立学校で「日の丸」の常時掲揚が行われ始めた。また、9月府議会では「3回不起立で免職」という「職員処分条例」の成立も目論まれている。「日の丸・君が代」強制反対ホットラインの井前弘幸さん（写真）は、「橋下知事は、教育は2万パーセント強制だと言っている。彼のねらいは、『日の丸・君が代』の押しつけにとどまらず、教育の方針・中身は政治が決定し、現場はそのマネジメントをするだけという状態にもっていくこと。政治が教育に自由に介入できる体制作りを目指している」と語った。（佐々木有美） ・起立条例反対の7/19記者会見（動画）