The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision, has ruled that it is constitutional for a principal to order a music teacher to play the piano accompaniment to the "Kimigayo" national anthem during a public school ceremony. The top court took the position that the principal's order does not constitute a denial of the teacher's historical and world views and thus does not violate Article 19 of the Constitution, which stipulates that "Freedom of thought and conscience shall not be violated."
Thus it upheld a reprimand that the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education meted out to the teacher for her refusal to play the anthem during an entrance ceremony at a municipally run primary school in Hino, Tokyo, in 1999. The ruling fails to properly consider the teacher's spiritual pain caused by the principal's order. It may lead many boards of education to think that they have a free hand in controlling school teachers who express dissenting views against singing Kimigayo while facing the "Hinomaru" national flag at school ceremonies.
The Supreme Court's ruling contrasts with the September 2006 ruling by the Tokyo District Court. In a lawsuit filed by 401 schoolteachers, the lower court ruled that the Metropolitan Board of Education's policy of forcing schoolteachers to sing Kimigayo or play the piano during singing at school ceremonies violates Article 19 of the Constitution.
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