The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is enacting another one of the conservatives' long-standing policy desires by reintroducing moral education in secondary schools from 2018.
This has sparked a liberal backlash because moral education is associated with wartime Japan's nationalist hysteria and thought-control policies. Back then, moral education instilled devotion to the Emperor, deference to the state and sacrifice for the nation, and was thus key in facilitating militarists' ambitions.
Contemporary advocacy of moral education is associated with concerns among conservatives that very few young Japanese express a willingness to die for the nation. Apparently, the Constitution, postwar pacifism and freedom of thought have robbed Japan of its warrior spirit and handicapped it with a "patriotic deficit." So back in 1999, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi passed laws designating "Kimigayo" as the national anthem and the Hinomaru as the national flag. Subsequently, the government has forced teachers to stand facing the flag while singing the national anthem, inciting many teachers to become conscientious objectors. The government has persecuted these "refuseniks" in the courts and some local governments have hounded them out of their jobs. While singing the national anthem and facing the flag might seem innocuous, to the objectors it is a matter of principle since "Kimigayo" is a paean to the Emperor reminiscent of wartime Japan and contravenes their constitutional rights.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.