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Emperor says flag, anthem are matters for personal consideration [Kyodo News]
Home > News > Emperor says flag, anthem are matters for personal consideration [Kyodo News]
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 at 07:29 JST
TOKYO Emperor Akihito said on Monday that the national anthem and flag are matters best left to individual citizens, in reference to a controversy sparked by a Tokyo metropolitan government's order in 2003 to make displaying the flag and singing the anthem compulsory in public schools.
"It is desirable that the national flag and anthem be considered by each and every national," the emperor said in a news conference when asked what he thought of the issue of forcing schools to display the rising-sun Hinomaru flag and sing the "Kimigayo" anthem.
The Hinomaru and "Kimigayo," translated as "His Majesty's Reign," were designated Japan's national flag and anthem by law in 1999, but it was not mandated that flags be displayed or the anthem sung. The flag and anthem are considered controversial because of their association with Japan's militarist past.
The emperor also said it was "important for schools to respect the flag and anthem" given that countries worldwide have their own flags and anthems.
"As they are considered to be symbols of nations, it is essential to respect the feelings people have for them," he said.
The emperor also referred to occasions when winners at the Olympic Games do their victory laps carrying their nation's flag, saying that given "the joyful faces of the winners, I do not see anyone being forced to do that."
The emperor made the remarks on the flag and anthem in a conversation with Kunio Yonenaga, a master shogi player, who was a guest at an annual imperial garden party, in October last year.
"It is desirable not to force" teachers and students to sing the "Kimigayo" standing in front of the Hinomaru, the emperor told Yonenaga, a Tokyo metropolitan board of education member, who said, "It is my job to make schools in Japan display the national flag and sing the national anthem."
On Oct. 23, 2003, the Tokyo metropolitan board of education issued an order requiring metropolitan government-run schools, including schools for the disabled, to display the Hinomaru and sing the "Kimigayo" during enrollment and graduation ceremonies.
The board also stipulated that those who do not comply with the order will be subject to penalties.
Teachers who have since been punished have filed lawsuits against the board, saying the order violates freedom of thought and conscience as provided for under the Constitution. (Kyodo News)
2005-04-27
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