Hiroko Arai was looking forward to teaching high school English as a nonregular instructor following her mandatory retirement as a full-time teacher, as part-timers are exempt from most miscellaneous duties and can focus purely on course instruction.
But those hopes were dashed in March 2004, when Arai remained seated for 40 seconds while other attendees at her school's graduation ceremony stood up and sang the "Kimigayo" national anthem.
She would not sing the anthem in front of the Hinomaru national flag on the belief that they symbolize Japanese militarism, and she would not accept a notice issued by the Tokyo metropolitan board of education on Oct. 23, 2003, that directed school principals to order teachers to stand and sing the anthem or else be reprimanded.