More than 200 teachers who work at schools run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Saturday they are going to sue the Tokyo education board.
The teachers claim it is unconstitutional to force pupils and teachers to stand and sing "Kimigayo" at school ceremonies.
The group will demand that the metropolitan government pay each of them 30,000 yen in compensation over the "psychological suffering" that has resulted from the board's order. They will also demand that the board refrain from punishing them for disobeying the order.
The group plans to file the lawsuit Friday in an effort to confirm that they are not obliged to sing the anthem or stand facing the Hinomaru flag. It says the education board's order violates the freedom of thought and conscience stipulated by the Constitution.
As of Saturday, 32 lawyers had joined the defense team to represent the 217 plaintiffs, who include teachers and staff at the metropolitan high schools and schools for disabled children.
In 1999, the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo," unofficially translated as "His Majesty's Reign," were legally recognized as Japan's national flag and anthem. But this still remains a sensitive issue due to their symbolic links to Japan's Imperial system and its past militarism.
In notices issued to school principals in October, the Tokyo board of education stated that the Hinomaru flag should be "hung facing the front on the stage" and that teachers and school staff should "stand facing the national flag and sing the national anthem" during enrollment and graduation ceremonies.