Toward Respect for the Views of the Child
Year 2004 Report from Kunitachi (Tokyo, Japan) to the
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
Submitted by the Kunitachi Steering Committee for the
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
Toward Respect for the Views of the Child
Violations of children's rights at Kunitachi Elementary and Middle Schools
* Violation of Respect for the Views of the Child at school
* Misunderstanding of Children's Best Interests
* Violation of Privacy and Pride by the Mass Media, Politicians, and the Board of Education
* Discrimination Against Foreigners
* Violation of the Right to Life, Survival and Development
* Violation of Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion
* Compulsory usage of the Hinomaru national flag and Kimigayo national anthem
Introduction 4
1 Summary of the progression of events at the March 2000 graduation
ceremony at Daini Elementary School 8
* Events of the day
* Report from the school principal
* Mass media
* Right-wing organizations
* Disruption of education on the part of politicians
* Educational administration
2 Unique educational system in Kunitachi 16
* Historical background of education in Kunitachi
* National leader in implementing the alphabetical attendance sheet
* Effort to realize anti-discriminatory education and happiness for all children
* A historical look at Daini Elementary School
* Main participants of the school's graduation ceremony
* The graduation ceremony of Daini Elementary School in 2000
3 The issue of the Hinomaru national flag, Kimigayo national anthem,
and educational reform 22
4 Human rights violations in the midst of "normalization" 23
* Removal of disabled children
* Disregard of the teacher/student relationship and the removal of school staff
* Removal of problem-raising children
* Reversal of gains made toward gender-equal education
* Infringement upon parents' rights: Intervention into PTA activities
* Revised graduation and entrance ceremonies
* Strengthening of management via the staff rotation system
5 Meaning of the self-prostration reports 30
* Problematic values in Japanese society
* Adult views of children as revealed through the "self-prostration" reports
* What is our true image of children?
6 Realizing democratic education 35
* Relationship of trust between students and teachers
* Realizing democratic education
* Human rights of school staff
7 Children's human rights and women's consciousness 38
Conclusion 40
Introduction
The occasion of the graduation ceremony at Kunitachi Daini Public Elementary School (hereafter, Daini Elementary School) that took place in March 2000 gave rise to many incidents - the results of which spurred a deep amount of thinking on our parts regarding the matter of children's human rights and respect for the views of children.
In the year 2000, six years following the ratification in Japan of the Convention of the Rights of the Child - and today as well, in fact - it remains true that the ideas of this treaty have yet to be either comprehended or implemented. It is also true that the results from the investigation in 1998 by the Convention of the Rights of the Child have yet to be put into effect in schools. In short, the workings of educational administration - as well as the attitude of many persons associated therein - embody archaic social values and political intentions still existing in Japan today far more than they reflect the spirit of this treaty.
The uniqueness of education in Kunitachi (a city in the western suburbs of Tokyo) lies in the special postwar commitment that has been made within its schools to ensure a democratic education in accordance with the ideals of Japan's Constitution. As a result, there has been considerable opposition to the compulsory usage within Kunitachi schools of the "Hinomaru" ("rising-sun" flag, which was designated as Japan's national flag in 1999) due to its historic symbolization of a war of invasion, and "Kimigayo" ("Thy Reign", a song which was officially named as the national anthem of Japan in 1999) due to its usage in glorifying the Emperor. Moreover, this issue has been characterized by tense relations between Kunitachi citizens and government officials.
The words spoken by students to the principal of Daini Elementary School on the day of the school graduation ceremony serve as a sobering wake-up-call to adults, therefore, regarding the state of our society in this regard.
The graduation ceremony day's events were preluded by children asking the principal why the Hinomaru national flag was being raised at the school that day. The raising of the flag had never before occurred at the school because of historical controversy about the war, and students were unable to understand, moreover, why this would take place on the day of their graduation ceremony without their prior knowledge.
The events surrounding this incident (which will be described in the present report) were subsequently sensationalized by the mass media, however, which resulted in the children's actions at school that day being understood by society-at-large in a negative way. Moreover, the result of such coverage continued to exert negative impact upon the educational system of this and other schools in Kunitachi. Due to pressure exerted by the mass media and right-wing organizations, school teachers received administrative punishment in accordance with this incident. The children were hurt as a result of this sequence of events, and still have yet today to see any type of positive resolution. Furthermore, this incident produced no increase in understanding regarding the essence of the article concerning Respect for the Views of the Child. Rather, it was concluded in this instance that the children had done something wrong - a conclusion that was accompanied by a subsequent crackdown on the part of school administration officials. We are thoroughly troubled by the way that this incident proceeded.
We were, in point of fact, extremely moved by the words of the Daini Elementary School children on that morning. Naturally, therefore, we wish to show the children that what they said that day was in fact not wrong. And, finally - rather than tossing aside their questions and branding their actions as wrong - we hope for them to have pride in the fact that they were mature enough not to overlook the injustices of adult society. By standing up for what they believed in, we feel that the children that day demonstrated a true understanding of what a real democracy means.
For these reasons, we - a group of concerned parents, educators, and other citizens - decided to stand together in solidarity in order to let our collective voices be heard by those officials and politicians responsible for school policy and administration.
Through this process of working collectively, however, we truly came to understand the magnitude of the obstacles that continue to stand between us and our goal of ensuring children's rights. First of all, it will be necessary to restore to these children the trust that was lost on their part toward adults and society at large as a result of this incident. During adolescence, it is critical to feel that one is able to hold and voice one's own opinions freely and comfortably. For the children involved with this case, this critical juncture is now at hand. We feel it to be an urgent imperative, therefore, to offer our full-fledged support to the children in regard to this matter.
The article regarding Respect for the Views of the Child, as we understand it, ensures the right of children to freely express whatever opinion they may hold without fear of disrupting the stability of their surrounding environment. This would seem to include the assurance that expressions of criticism or protest could also be freely expressed without the fear of incurring any type of negative repercussion. In this case, moreover, we strongly feel that adults have a responsibility to first consider these opinions, and subsequently to help resolve whatever incident may be at hand in a manner that ensures the children's best interests. Moreover, this by no means implies that we are advocating unquestioning obedience to children.
The reality as it stands presently, however, is that such critical or questioning expressions on the part of children often result in their being scolded as selfish, rude or insolent - and the issues at hand are never dealt with in a fair or just manner. In certain instances, moreover, social punishments are even incurred as a result. This is particularly true in the realm of education, which is premised upon a solid hierarchical relationship of adults and children - the latter of whom are regarded as the mere objects of instruction. As a result, respect for the views of children within this social climate is both limited and also subject to various attached conditions - clearly not a situation that ensures the protection of children's relationships to others.
We strongly protest against this treatment of children, as well as the flawed manner in which respect for children's views is presently exercised in our society today. Children must be restored the right to express themselves as they are truly - instead of being expected to fulfill some arbitrary standard of the "ideal child" that has been defined by others. In addition, children must be provided an environment within which they feel protected and nurtured. At Daini Elementary School, as with other schools in Kunitachi, we have truly come to understand the value of these rights firsthand.
Watching the development of events following the graduation ceremony at this school, moreover, we have experienced the reality of politics making an intrusion into the educational space. Japanese society is presently at a crossroads with regard to a number of different social factors. In the educational arena, this has taken the form of more authoritarian government curriculum guidelines (hereafter, Courses of Study). As a result, occasions such as the school graduation and entrance ceremonies have ceased to be a celebration of these milestones in children's lives, and are instead turning more and more into exercises of ceremonial bureaucratic control that are clearly reflective of this authoritarian trend.
According to the investigation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child held in 1998, Courses of Study often take the form of strict directives that cause problems of inadaptability to school curricula, and that are often more concerned with fostering obedience and duty than rights and independence. In addition, while this investigation also paid close attention to the Respect for Views of the Child article, this matter has remained completely unchanged in Japan in the realm of school education. Rather, Courses of Study continue to become stricter in this regard year by year. In the name of guaranteeing educational rights, Courses of Study continue to be given the highest priority. As a result, the matter of respect for children's views is not being administered in a fair or just manner.
The events that have taken place in Kunitachi with regard to school education over the past two to three years are symbolic of the larger problematic issue relating to Courses of Study.
The introduction of the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem into school graduation and entrance ceremonies is being strongly and coercively enforced in the name of Courses of Study. At the same time, neither freedom of thought and belief nor respect for the views of children are being protected. Moreover, an increasing focus within schools regarding issues relating to nationality and the state is resulting in an intensification of race- and nationality-based discrimination. Rather than fostering a climate where the individuality of each child is respected and valued, the reality is that schools are strengthening implementation of child control that is based upon uniformity and expediency. The result of such an approach has been a loss of appreciation of diversity, as well as additional negative impacts upon children with regard to (dis)ability and gender.
This dangerous trend has served as a strong warning signal that led us to strengthen our drive to ensure a safe environment whereby children may feel free to be themselves and assert their own opinions. We are appealing today to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child in order to make it known that the children of Daini Elementary School, in exercising their rights in accordance with the article regarding Respect for the Rights of the Child, saw those rights unjustly violated. Moreover, with regard to the violation of rights that continued to take place at the school following this incident, we would like to respectfully request that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child advise the Japanese government regarding the following:
* The utterances of children within the school space are not to be publicly announced without prior consent.
* The utterances of children within the school space are not to be reported by the mass media.
* The utterances of children within the school space are not for use by political organizations.
* Courses of Study are not to be used in a manner that violates children's rights.
In response to the violation of children's rights that has occurred in this instance, we have taken measures such as issuing complaints to educational administration officials, holding study seminars, and conducting activism in the local community. In order to bring about legislation that will revoke the punitive measures inflicted upon school staff in accordance with this incident, restore an atmosphere of trust at the school, and ensure the protection of children's rights, it will first be necessary to undergo a fundamental revision of the attitude toward children that presently exists on the part of educational administrative officials. We are confident that the submission of this report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child, which summarizes the views of concerned parents, school officials, and other citizens with regard to this case, will prove to be an important step in this direction.
1 Summary of the progression of events at the March 2000 graduation
ceremony at Daini Elementary School
* Events of the day
For many years, school graduation and entrance ceremonies taking place at public elementary and middle schools in Kunitachi involved children as the primary focus of events, and did not involve the Hinomaru flag or Kimigayo anthem as part of the proceedings. On the day of school graduation in March 2000, however, the Hinomaru national flag was hoisted on the rooftops of all eleven public schools in Kunitachi. The night before, staff members at Daini Elementary School stayed until late at night discussing this matter with the school principal. They insisted that if the flag were going to be displayed, it should at least be done after first having explained the matter to the children. The following morning, however, the principal locked staff out of the building and proceeded to raise the Hinomaru national flag on the school rooftop.
At Daini Elementary School, students play an active role in school affairs by forming various event-related committees. Therefore, the students who had taken responsibility for planning their graduation ceremony, and who as a result felt a sense of ownership of the day's event, were naturally disturbed by the fact that the flag - which had never before been a part of school graduation proceedings - was displayed without their prior knowledge. Just prior to the commencement of the graduation proceedings, when the sixth graders were gathered for final announcements, etc., they displayed doubt and uneasiness with regard to the fact that the flag was being displayed, and they also wondered whether they would be asked to sing the Kimigayo national anthem. Students asked why the raising of the flag was part of the day's proceedings, to which the teachers tried to reassure them by explaining the situation as best they could. The teachers asked for the students' cooperation, and encouraged them to ensure a successful ceremony.
The ceremony did indeed turn out to be a successful and moving event, which stands in testimony to the students' extremely diligent preparation. After the ceremony, when students and teachers were gathered together outside the school, five or six students followed the principal as he prepared to return inside the school. The students asked him why the Hinomaru national flag had been displayed that day, and - in what was seemingly a demonstration of their wishes to express themselves fully on what was to be their last day of elementary school - they explained to him their perspectives on the matter.
The students speaking with the principal were soon also joined by others, until the crowd grew to about thirty students. The comments made by students at that time included the following: "It's wrong for the flag to have been displayed without telling us first, because we were the ones responsible for planning the ceremony." "Since the flag has never been part of this school's graduation ceremony in the past, we should have been told first about this change in school policy." "Why was the flag raised even though the teachers are against it?" "You should have asked the opinion of the students first." "I don't like the idea of the Hinomaru national flag being displayed." In this way, the students went around explaining in their own words why this incident was disturbing to them.
When the principal went up to the rooftop to remove the flag, the students accompanied him in order to continue the dialogue. The principal's responses to the students' comments regarding the decision to display the flag included those such as: "This is just the way things were decided" and "I didn't feel it was necessary to consult you students in this matter." Dissatisfied, the students continued pressing the matter. Worried about why the students were not returning from the rooftop, several concerned teachers and parents went up to see what was happening - and what they saw in terms of the students' maturity with regard to this incident truly moved them.
To these observers, however, it appeared that the principal was not matching the student's willingness to delve sincerely into the issue at hand. In order to bring a close to the lingering discussion, the assembled adults tried to explain to the principal that rather than opposing the Hinomaru national flag per se, the students were instead upset by the fact that they were not consulted in the decision to display it, and wished for an apology.
The principal did offer an apology, after which the nearly two hour discussion was ended and the teachers encouraged the students to come down from the rooftop. Before descending, several students reiterated that they hoped future similar decisions would be made with the consent of students.
* Report from the school principal
In response to these allegedly problematic events that took place in conjunction with the school graduation ceremony, Kunitachi City Board of Education officials requested a formal report from the principal detailing the incident. The principal submitted the report, which was essentially a fragmented summary of the conversation that took place between the principal, students, teachers and other adults following the ceremony. However, there are several seriously problematic aspects to this report.
First, the events were recorded from a distorted perspective. The report is prepared in a manner that suggests objective facts, and which fails to convey that the random conversational bits (which, moreover, reflect only the principal's one-way point of view while completely leaving out the perspective of others who were present) were actually part of a larger, nearly two-hour discussion. The words of the students are reproduced in the report with (unlike the case of the present report) neither their own nor the adults' permission having been secured, so it is clearly impossible for the principal's report to have presented an objective description of what actually transpired.
In addition, the report includes utterances conveying the thoughts and beliefs of the students that - while anonymous - still made it quite easy to identify the students involved. This represents, therefore, both an invasion of the students' privacy and a threat to their personal safety.
While documents such as this report are normally public documents, access to the report was later limited after the school began receiving threats to the students' personal safety. This fact in and of itself reflects just how dangerous the principal's report actually was.
One reason why this type of report can be acceptable is that the power of school principals has been elevated to the extent that whatever the principal describes is assumed to have actually transpired. Moreover, the power structure of the school has become established such that the principal is held to be a dominant authority figure whose thoughts and actions are not subject to question or discussion.
To use the students' words in this manner without their permission, however, serves both to weaken the guarantee of students' free speech and destroy their trust in the student-teacher relationship. Moreover, constricting students' freedom of expression and thought constitutes a violation of the U.N. article guaranteeing Respect for the Views of the Child - which in turn carries serious repercussions for education as a whole.
* Mass Media
In response to this incident, the Sankei newspaper ran a story based on the principal's report with the following headline in large print: "Thirty children force the Hinomaru national flag to be taken down, and demand that principal prostrate in apology." Due to this story, which was written without the consent of the students, school staff or parents involved, a great misunderstanding ensued with regard to what actually transpired. This was a story that was purposely sensationalized in order to present as problematic the words and actions of the students at the school. In fact, however, the impression given by this article is far from what actually happened that day.
In actuality, only five or six of the thirty students present were speaking in a calm manner with the principal, while the others were simply watching. The onlookers did include students who were jeering, as well as some who grew tired of the discussion and began to horse around and talk amongst themselves. The image presented by the article of a crowd of students angrily demanding that the flag be taken down and the principal prostrate in apology, however, was in fact simply wrong.
Moreover, the tone of this article suggested that the students were prodded on by the teachers present during the discussion with the principal - a trend that was to continue in subsequent articles. The students report, however, that what they expressed that day was truly what was in their own hearts and minds.
There were also other significant problems in addition to just the newspaper article itself. While the article based on the principal's report was published on April 5th, the report did not become available to the public until after April 11th. In other words, this discrepancy in dates makes it clear that a press leak had taken place.
The issue of this press leak, however, was never resolved. Moreover, the same newspaper launched what was effectively a campaign against Daini Elementary School and public education in Kunitachi in general, persistently alleging biased education and continuing to attack both the school curriculum and the students at the school themselves.
As a result, what should have been kept as a private issue to be resolved within the school itself turned into a situation whereby the mass media committed an invasion of students' privacy - thereby wounding both the students' and the school's honor. In effect, therefore, the mass media committed a violation of the United Nations article regarding Respect for the Views of the Child.
This incident, moreover, also invited the retaliation of right-wing organizations and politicians - which in turn led to the strengthening of bureaucratic controls over school educational administration.
* Right-Wing Organizations
As a result of the newspaper article published on April 5th, members of right-wing organizations showed up as uninvited guests to the school's entrance ceremony held the following day on April 6th. They stood directly in front of the school, their loudspeakers blaring the Kimigayo national anthem. They also called out to nearby children, shouting insults of the schoolteachers and making such comments as "If you are Japanese, you should respect the Hinomaru national flag!" "Are you the kids who had the flag taken down?!" "Foreigners, go home!" and other such taunts.
The same right-wingers also showed up at middle school entrance ceremonies which were held in Kunitachi the following day on April 7th, shouting the same types of intimidating threats against the graduates of Daini Elementary School.
On April 26th, over 60 right-wing trucks with loudspeakers showed up in Kunitachi, shouting criticisms of Daini Elementary School and of the Kunitachi educational curriculum as a whole. As a result, afternoon classes at the school were cancelled, forcing parents and caretakers to make sudden arrangements to come pick up their children from school.
In May, a threatening letter was sent to Daini Elementary School saying that students would be kidnapped and killed. As a result, the next several months were spent in a considerable state of unease, whereby arrangements were made to accompany children to and from school, and police protection was requested.
There are many foreign children at Daini Elementary School. There is also a great variation in the way that both students and adults in the school community feel with regard to the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem. This aggressive, threatening behavior on the part of right-wing organization members creates an atmosphere within which a diverse community of people no longer feel safe in expressing their opinions freely. Moreover, the threats of harm and death also naturally caused a great amount of fear and stress on the part of parents, teachers and students.
* Disruption of education on the part of politicians
Right-wingers were not the only ones to have latched onto the media hype, however. As coverage continued persistently throughout the month of April, politicians took on the topic of education in Kunitachi as the incident at Daini Elementary School began to be discussed at local and metropolitan congressional levels and within the national Diet. Politicians' discussions regarding the incident served continually to expose their existing views regarding the matters of education, children, and even history and the state. At the same time, however, they also served to influence public opinion with their views that the education in Kunitachi was inherently biased. Seeing this as the chance to call for the introduction of politics into educational administration, and regarding the matter of bias in Kunitachi education as a fait accompli, politicians arbitrarily urged the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education to implement an investigation into the matter.
As a result of this investigation, seventeen teachers and staff members in Kunitachi (thirteen at Daini Elementary School and four at Kunitachi Daigo Public Elementary School) received administrative punishment.
Moreover, the unjust accusations on the part of Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara that education in Kunitachi was "abnormal", "grotesque", and "terrorism inflicted upon students" resulted in the schools being thrown into a state of confusion.
* Educational Administration
In 1999, there was a law passed with regard to Japan's national flag and anthem. The purpose of the law was simply to designate the national flag as the "Hinomaru", ("rising-sun"), and the national anthem as "Kimigayo" ("Thy Reign"). There were no regulations written into the law regarding duty or respect for the national flag or anthem, and therefore no reason to believe that these would be enforced. Moreover, the Prime Minister stated several times in front of the assembled members of the Diet that these were not to be subject to enforced regulations.
This has not been the case in the realm of education, however, where enforcement of both the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem have been urged due to a perception that these are necessary in order to ensure "proper application of Courses of Study." At Daini Elementary School, a total of thirteen teachers and staff were subjected to disciplinary action for having demonstrated their opposition to the raising of the Hinomaru national flag at the graduation ceremony (six of whom received punitive salary reductions and seven of whom received written warnings).
These punishments were based upon the incident report filed by the school principal, as well as the investigation conducted by the city and metropolitan Boards of Education. However, this report was based upon a flawed and unjust account of the day's events - a fact that has been repeatedly pointed out to the Kunitachi City Board of Education by school staff and concerned parents.
Such official reports are public documents, and as such they naturally bear the obligation to be factual in their accounting. The report in question, however, is biased toward only one side (the principal's), and completely leave out the viewpoint of the others involved (teachers, staff, parents and the students themselves). As such, the report is inherently lacking in fairness.
To account for this bureaucratic flaw, the adults involved requested that the report be re-issued with the opinions of all concerned parties included in a fair manner. However, in response to repeated insistence that the report engendered a misguided conception of the incident, the Kunitachi City Board of Education replied that "the report was submitted by the school principal, who is the school's official representative, and the report therefore must be factual." The failure to have the report re-issued, therefore, has resulted in misinformation that has in turn caused a flawed conclusion regarding what transpired that day. This situation, therefore, truly represents a situation whereby the reinforced authoritarian ability of the principal allowed him to commit a blatant and unfettered violation of rights.
With the path of misinformation and misinterpretation thus paved, punishments were issued to teachers and staff, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education ordered the Kunitachi City Board of Education to subsequently make detailed improvements to - and thereby bring about the "normalization1 "[KH1] of - education in Kunitachi.
As a result of the actions taken by the mass media and right-wing groups in response to the principal's incident report, students suffered a serious infringement of their human rights. The flawed report, however, was allowed to stand. Moreover, in addition to the source of the press leak never being clarified, educational administration officials never stepped in to intervene in a situation whereby the mass media were engaging in irresponsible reporting that was then seized upon by eager politicians.
Due to there being no system of "checks" or assistance in the case of human rights infringements (an "ombudsman" system), the teachers, staff, and parents involved with this case are seeking the outside assistance of a third party (the Tokyo Bar Association). In other words, the officials responsible for educational administration are taking steps to expediently revise education in Kunitachi schools, while they themselves have completely neglected to make any effort to restore the children's damaged rights in association with this incident.
The above is a brief summary of the events that have transpired since the graduation ceremony of Daini Elementary School on March 24, 2000. Parents, school teachers and staff, and other concerned citizens are unable to remain silent with regard to the overwhelming political pressure to revise the city's educational system - revisions that have moved to destroy the post-war ideas of democracy, human rights, and peace that have been so carefully put into place.
2 Unique educational system in Kunitachi
Just what is the uniqueness of education in Kunitachi, then, that the mass media, right-wing organizations, and politicians are bonding together in order to change? Is the so-called "Kunitachi education" truly biased and abnormal, as they are claiming?
Comments from parents of children attending Kunitachi schools regarding education in Kunitachi include the following: "The education is premised upon freedom, and the children can study in a relaxed atmosphere." "The schools plan fun events." "The children's independence is valued." "There is diversity, including the chance to study together with foreign and disabled children." "The education places importance upon gender equality." "The graduation and entrance ceremonies are warm and wonderful events to attend." "The PTA is active."
Clearly, therefore, many parents of Kunitachi school students affirm, value and trust the education that their children are receiving.
* Historical background of education in Kunitachi
A historical look at a message from the Kunitachi City Board of Education written in 1952, shortly following the end of World War II, reads as follows:
The Kunitachi City Board of Education has hereby been created on this day.
This organization will operate in accordance with the principles of the Japanese Constitution and the Fundamental Law of Education, and will strive to continually make advanced developments in the areas of education, scholarship, and culture. Moreover, in order to both improve the welfare of and establish trust with local citizens, we pledge to strive to accomplish these tasks in an unyielding, solemn and fair manner.
We do so declare the above.
Kunitachi City Board of Education
November 1, 1952
Since the time of this declaration, the Kunitachi City Board of Education did indeed set about fulfilling their mission in a democratic manner that was consistent with the above statement. Moreover, the local community was extremely active in creating a PTA that would give a voice to their opinions, and that would call upon the Board of Education as needed.
The yearly published "Kunitachi School Education Handbook" reflects the fact that local schools have placed consistent emphasis upon upholding an education that shows respect for human rights. Specifically, this has included educating students on issues of caste- and class-based discrimination, disabled rights, gender equality, etc., and the schools have shown initiative and creativity in their approach to addressing these types of issues.
* National leader in implementing the alphabetical attendance sheet
Traditionally in Japanese schools, running races were always held separately between boys and girls. This was due to the impression that it was more aesthetically pleasing to have two separate rows of students lined up orderly by height, and also because it would have been humiliating for boys to be defeated by girls. Additionally, boys' names came before girls' on attendance sheets, and boys were always called before girls during student health checks. Activities were also divided up under the assumption that boys were suited toward heavy lifting, and girls toward rather simple chores.
It was within this social climate, therefore, that efforts were begun in Kunitachi about twenty years ago to make the educational system more equal with respect to gender. City officials began to address the matter of gender equality in education, and the Board of Education worked in cooperation with both schools and the school employee labor union (whose motto was "anti-discrimination, anti-management") toward the implementation of these efforts. Support was also received, moreover, from parents of local schoolchildren, as well as other concerned citizens.
In 1990, 58% of the attendance rosters in Kunitachi schools were reorganized alphabetically in accordance with these efforts. Publication was begun on the "Gender Equality in Education Guidance Manual", and the matter of revising class content to reflect gender equality also began to be addressed.
By 1997, the percentage of alphabetical attendance sheets in Kunitachi schools rose to 99.1%, and 97.7% of schools were lining up their students by height, irrespective of sex. Recognition of this issue also began to spread around this time into the entire Tokyo metropolis, as well as other areas throughout the country.
* Effort to realize anti-discriminatory education and happiness for all children
Working under the premise that "division equals discrimination", Kunitachi matched its progressive approach to gender equality with its efforts to integrate disabled children into its schools. Moreover, several schools in Kunitachi began integrating human rights issues as the central focus of its classes, due to a strong desire to provide an atmosphere whereby students coming from such diverse situations as those in the oppressed burakumin caste, foreign children, and children from disadvantaged backgrounds could freely affirm and express themselves.
From the viewpoint of some, the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem are symbols of invasion, are not representative of all peoples inside Japan's borders, and stand for discrimination occurring under the Emperor system. The absence of these symbols in Kunitachi schools, therefore, is due in part to the commitment to ensuring the happiness of each and every student, and to promoting a staunchly anti-discrimination based education.
* A historical look at Daini Elementary School
The following is a summary of the unique traditions at Daini Elementary School - many of which threaten to be (or, in some instances, already have been) changed or eliminated by the present drive to strengthen authoritarian controls with the schools.
* There is a morning meeting held daily, for which the children are completely responsible. Students line up by height irrespective of sex, and while they are not given commands such as "stand up straight, follow the person in front", etc., they are attentive and offer applause where appropriate. The principal speaks once a month at this morning gathering, and students sometimes decide to use the occasion for special play time.
* The school is generally lenient with regard to students' dress, asking them only to wear clothing that is comfortable and appropriate to each daily schedule. (This is not the case for all schools in Japan, some of which require students to purchase a set of special school dress accoutrements such as physical education uniforms, slippers, swimsuits, caps, name tags, pins, etc.)
* As a rule, the school consults with students regarding the proceedings of school events such as sports days, arts exhibitions, school festivals, graduation and other ceremonies, etc. Lower-grade students are presented with several choices from amongst which to choose, and older-grade students form committees for each event for which they remain responsible until the event's conclusion. This is especially true for the main school festival, which is planned almost exclusively by the students.
* When students come across a problem, they are encouraged to discuss it amongst themselves and try to reach a solution. In cases where they are unable to do this on their own, they are assisted by school staff. The principal's office and staff room are always open to students for this purpose.
* The PTA is comprised of parents, school teachers and staff, and other administrators who work cooperatively and in an egalitarian fashion to discuss issues and ultimately protect the rights of the school children.
* Main participants of the school's graduation ceremony
The major purpose of graduation ceremonies at Japanese schools is to present students with a graduation diploma that demonstrates that they have successfully completed the school learning process. Normally, the ceremony is held in the school gym or lecture hall, where a podium as well as the national and school flags are placed atop a stage that participants sit facing.
As is befitting of auspicious occasions such as this in Japan, three of the room's walls are also draped by red and white curtains. The event is begun with an official speech, which is followed by the singing of the Kimigayo national anthem. Finally, students come up to the podium on the stage one by one in order to honorifically receive their diploma from the school principal.
After all of the students have received their diplomas, a round of speeches given by the principal and other guests follows, during which time the students must quietly sit still and also stand up and bow where appropriate. Depending on the school, choir performances and other special arrangements also often follow these speeches.
In Kunitachi, however, elementary school graduation ceremony committees that are comprised mostly of school students have traditionally decided to implement ceremonies that are considerably different from those ceremonies held in other areas (as described above).
At Daini Elementary School, as with other school events through the year, the school graduation ceremony committee forms every year three months prior to the ceremony and sets about making its preparations for the event. Furthermore, this school's committee has traditionally decided to structure its graduation ceremony not exclusively around the receiving of the diploma, but around the marking of this event as an important milestone in the graduating students' lives.
* The graduation ceremony of Daini Elementary School in 2000
Ceremony Setup
In another break from the traditional Japanese school graduation ceremony, Kunitachi schools hold their ceremony in a "floor style" that does not include the use of a stage. In order to infuse the ceremony with the idea of equality, all participants and spectators (graduating students, other school students, parents, and school teachers and staff) all sit on an equal level facing each other.
The ceremony is also flanked by an approximate 2 x 4 meter tapestry that is made by all students in the school during the preceding three months and hung from the ceiling and the three walls. It is put together as a cooperative effort, and includes messages from younger children to the graduating students congratulating them on their special day.
Ceremony Proceedings
Graduating students make their entrance to the sounds of a musical concert performed by fifth-graders and the applause of the audience. When they receive their diplomas, each student uses the podium microphone to give a short speech regarding their feelings about graduating, their dreams for middle school and the future, etc. These speeches are always varied, and quite moving, in their demonstration of each individual student's growth.
In addition to giving a musical performance and offering their congratulations, fifth-graders also give a special performance together with the graduating students called the "shout-out." This performance is planned by the graduation ceremony committee, who include the input of all graduating students. It is concluded by a scenario with special commemorative meaning from the past six years, and includes the recitation of special speeches, and the performance of songs, short plays, and dances. The idea of this part of the ceremony is to leave the graduating students with special memories regarding their time spent at elementary school. It occurs at the end of the ceremony, after which time the students are again escorted out to the sounds of the fifth graders' musical performance and applause from spectators.
As the special finale to the day's events, commemorative photographs are taken and the students are escorted off the school grounds by the fifth-graders, parents, teachers and school staff, who form an archway for graduates to walk under while applauding to the sounds of popular songs playing over the loudspeaker.
A memo prepared by staff prior to the March 2000 graduation ceremony at Daini Elementary School reads as follows: "We hope to pull off a ceremony that will praise the sixth-graders for their cooperation and hard work, make them excited for their entrance into middle school, and also provide them with warm and lasting memories."
3 The issue of the Hinomaru national flag, Kimigayo national anthem, and educational reform
The decision not to use the Hinomaru national flag or the Kimigayo national anthem during school graduation ceremonies was partly a result of frank and respectful discussions - including some arguments - that were held frequently between school teachers and staff, parents, citizens, children, and administrators in Kunitachi.
Rather than simply being an issue of the way that the ceremony is structured, this matter reflects the fact that people have been grappling with the matter of defining post-war ideals such as democracy, peace, and human rights. The educational realm is one area where this trend has manifested, as has been seen in the sincere discussions taking place regarding just what exactly public education should be.
The Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem have emerged from the struggle to define and come to grips with such matters as the identity of Japan as a nation, pre-war values, the ambiguity of Japan's responsibility for the events of World War II, and the foundations of the state organization itself. In addition, these symbols are also deeply tied up with issues of democracy, peace, the Emperor system, and human rights. It is understandable, therefore, that objections to these symbols have arisen from the standpoint of such perspectives as ideology, origin, and religion.
Moreover, the economic globalization of recent years has been accompanied by what essentially may be termed a neo-nationalist movement to redefine the nation, which is evidenced by such trends as the passage of the 1999 National Flag and Anthem Law. This law strengthened the authority of the state, which in turn had repercussions in the educational realm in the form of stricter authoritarian controls. This is perhaps seen most clearly with regard to the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem being made compulsory, and both right-wing organizations and the mass media exerting coercive influence in the educational sector in this regard.
Another repercussion of this trend has been shown by the state, which has worked to promote an "overhaul" of the education system. Since the end of World War II, education in Kunitachi has specifically been a fertile realm within which to implement the concepts of the newly transcribed Constitution of Japan. However, the repercussions have become characterized by shameless attempts to exert authoritarian educational reform, which has started to inflict serious damage on education in Kunitachi. The incident at the graduation ceremony of Daini Elementary School occurred within this climate, and as such was sensationalized and subsequently seized upon by the proponents of this educational reform movement in order to strengthen their efforts.
As this state-driven educational reform is being implemented, it is simultaneously trampling over the rights of the students and school employees who lie in its path. This is strikingly obvious by the events that have taken place in Kunitachi alone, whereby the proponents of educational reform have been particularly zealous in their attempts to forcibly apply their doctrine to local schools in the name of "normalization" since the incident which occurred in 2000.
4 Human rights violations in the midst of "normalization"
The educational system in Kunitachi changed dramatically during the period from the years 2000 to 2002. Following the reprimands of several school teachers and staff in conjunction with the 2000 graduation ceremony incident, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education began exerting strict authority over the Kunitachi City Board of Education that reflected the movement toward educational "normalization."
While the issue of contention at the 2000 graduation ceremony of Daini Elementary School regarded the display of the Hinomaru national flag on the school rooftop, the following year's ceremony in 2001 saw the display of the flag inside the graduation ceremony room, and also included a section where the entire assembly rose and sung the Kimigayo national anthem. Moreover, school staff were under extreme pressure from administration officials to comply with official orders or face punitive measures - including orders for the school music teacher to provide musical accompaniment during the Kimigayo national anthem.
Such enforcement, therefore, has intensified the exclusion and coercion of insubordinates in the school by encouraging an attempted invasion into their hearts and minds. Unfortunately, yet perhaps not surprisingly, the year 2001 saw the transferring out of many school employees.
Another repercussion of the strengthening of authoritarian controls over schools in Kunitachi was the unraveling of gains made previously in the area of educational equality with respect to gender, nationality, disability, and other factors of diversity. This included blatant infringements upon the human rights of students, school employees, parents, and guardians - several concrete examples of which that occurred at the school between 2000 and 2002 are described in the section below.
* Removal of Disabled Children
Kunitachi schools have a longstanding history of being extremely proactive with regard to the education of disabled children - part of the commitment to ensure a quality education for every child in the local area. Ironically, however, just as this is becoming standard procedure in other countries throughout the world, these gains have shown a trend of reversal in Kunitachi due to the recent educational climate as described in this report.
At a middle-school in Kunitachi in 2000, for example, it was decided that not all disabled children were able to be integrated into public education, and one disabled boy in particular began to be the object of a campaign to remove him from the school. As a result, others around him began to treat him as if his existence were an interference with their education, and this ostracism caused him to stop coming to the school. His right to learn, and to have a place in which to do so - rights which should be granted every child - were in this case clearly violated. Moreover, in naming the disabled student himself as the source of the problem, the school failed in its obligation to provide an environment where abled and disabled children may learn together.
Additional evidence of Kunitachi schools no longer being proactive with regard to the educational rights of disabled children include the fact that teachers who have been vocal with regard to the issue have been transferred, as well as the fact that school principals are now creating an atmosphere whereby disabled children are faltering rather than thriving. In short, what was once a school system that was highly esteemed for its approach to disabled student rights has now sadly deteriorated to the point that it even lags noticeably behind other areas.
* Disregard of the teacher/student relationship and the removal of school staff
Disabled children were not the only targets of the campaign to remove undesirable elements from the schools, however. Calling upon some parents to help exert pressure, teachers began to be relentlessly watched, and - in several instances - the mass media was utilized in the effort to remove them from their positions. The teachers involved were not the only ones to suffer from this attack, however. The students, seemingly forgotten, also endured extreme difficulties during this period as their teachers were forcibly worn down emotionally and eventually pursued for removal.
* Removal of problem-raising children
Attempting to exert control over children will only result in their rebellion. Nevertheless, this is the approach taken recently by Kunitachi educational officials as they attempt to emulate that of the national government in response to youth that commit crimes and violence. This approach rejects the idea that problem-raising children require support rather than punishment, and instead regards the solution as simply handing them over to the police.
We firmly believe however, that insofar as children who act out are actually expressing symptoms of deeper-reaching problems, it is the responsibility of adults to address the root causes of those problems and adjust the educational approach accordingly in order to help bring about their solution. Simply removing the children from school, by contrast, accomplishes nothing with regard to solving these deeper-lying issues.
This is another area in which the mass media has caused a severe intrusion into the educational sector by capitalizing upon certain school incidents - a trend which only serves to increase the existing mistrust on the part of children toward the school system.
* Reversal of gains made toward gender-equal education
While Kunitachi schools were also extremely progressive in the area of gender equality, this too has suffered severe setbacks due to the transferring of key teachers in this area. Now, it is not uncommon for school staff to revert to lining up students separately by gender, and to make open criticisms of the fact that school attendance rosters are organized alphabetically. Again, this represents an instance whereby instead of playing the leadership role they once did in the area of gender equality, Kunitachi schools are actually now lagging behind national standards in this area. Apparently, as with the graduation and entrance ceremonies, the operative tactic in this regard is to change the structure from within.
Moreover, this weakening of respect for the issue of gender equality has resulted in a similar weakening of respect for human rights in general - a situation evidenced by the ineffectiveness with which recent instances of sexual harassment have been dealt. In other words, if an unequal relationship of hierarchy has been established whereby one party exerts control over the other (i.e., a teacher over a student), it becomes quite difficult to assert that a human rights violation has been committed (i.e., in the case of sexual harassment of a student by a teacher), which is the first step in addressing and solving the problem.
One manifestation of the state's drive to "normalize" the education system in Kunitachi via educational reform is an increased emphasis on morality education for students that promotes pre-war attitudes with regard to such issues as families and gender roles. For example, school administrative officials in Kunitachi have utilized the morality class period over the past couple of years in order to invite guest lecturers who give speeches that clearly reflect attitudes consistent with nationalist and anti-gender equality views.
The approach of schools in Kunitachi with regard to gender-related education has always been to emphasize that every child has the human right to be respected as an individual being. Educational directives from the municipal educational authorities to focus upon "recognizing the sacrifices that both genders must make", however, has resulted in an abrupt shift away from the concept of "anti-discrimination", which has in turn weakened the concept and caused tangible losses in the area of gender equality education.
* Infringement upon parents' rights: Intervention into PTA activities
In addition to students and teachers, parents have also had their human rights violated as well. Recent PTA discussions in Kunitachi regarding the state of school education have been intervened in by administrative officials who then, moreover, have exerted blatant pressure over the proceedings. Specifically, the head of the local Principal's Association released a memorandum stating that PTA discussions regarding such issues as graduation/ entrance ceremonies, and the necessity of having another special course teacher, presented a hindrance to the principals' work. Clearly, then, the principals wished to send the message that the views of parents were not valued - a message that is exceptionally ironic in that it seeks to undermine what is essentially the very foundation of public education.
Furthermore, the principals engaged in such acts as censoring PTA handouts and then refusing to send them out, and in some instances - depending on the agenda - interfering with PTA activities by refusing to let them hold their meetings in school rooms. Insofar as the PTA is a social educational organization, this type of action also has negative implications from the standpoint of lifelong learning for local adult citizens.
Clearly, the principals are attempting to limit parental interaction with school proceedings by placing undue focus upon the "roles of parents and families" - and then relegating the PTA associations - which were previously active and stood in a relationship of equality with the schools - to playing a mere supporting role in student education.
* Revised graduation and entrance ceremonies
Graduation ceremonies held at Kunitachi schools in 2002 reflected an increased emphasis on formalities rather than a focus on the graduating students themselves. The previously utilized floor seating arrangement was done away with, and the entire assembly was required to rise and sing the Kimigayo national anthem. Furthermore, the students' decorations and speeches that had previously been central to the proceedings were cut back dramatically. Finally, in another blatant rejection of the thought and principles of a considerable number of students, parents, and school staff, the previously optional usage of Western calendar dates on the graduation diplomas was abolished in favor of the strict usage of the Imperial calendar system.
* Strengthening of management via the staff rotation system
In the year 2002, an array of new regulations and policies were introduced into schools throughout Japan in conjunction with the newly implemented Courses of Study. This included increased emphasis on the leadership of school principals, and a subsequent extension of their authority. For example, the Staff Evaluation Policy implemented in metropolitan Tokyo gave principals and Board of Education officials the authority to rank local school teachers in accordance with their evaluations.
The year 2001 saw the transferring of teachers in Kunitachi schools - as well as the introduction of administrative overseers and assistants - on a grand scale. The majority of those teachers who were rotated out of the city were those who were labor union members and had been the subject of the aforementioned punitive measures of the previous year. Since many of these transfers were not requested by the teachers themselves, this is another clear indication of the "normalization" policy being implemented within the Kunitachi educational system.
Another indication to this effect was the clear shift from a democratic school system to one that was decided exclusively upon the desires of the school principals. As a result, teachers who were concerned about their evaluations sometimes resorted to creating a classroom atmosphere where students were required to act in complete uniformity. This was truly representative of an educational system no longer predicated upon children's thought, freedom and autonomy - but one that was concerned primarily instead with control and direction. Naturally, this resulted in undesirable effects on the children as well.
While those subjected to control may appear to project an orderly appearance, the deeper reality in this case is that a hypersensitivity to regulations regarding the students' actions, attention to time, etc. has the ultimate effect of robbing them of their desires, autonomy, and creativity. This drive to utilize the system of staff rotation as a tool with which to exercise managerial control has had damaging effects, therefore, on the best interests of the students.
At the heart of each and every one of the human rights violations outlined above is the logic behind the acts of control, regulation, discrimination, and ostracism that have fueled them. Schools have ceased to become places where students can affirm diversity and learn to be together harmoniously with others. Instead, they have essentially turned into factories concerned only with the efficient production of schooled students. Similarly, the previously overarching ethos regarding the protection of the right to learn has turned instead into one of student "guidance.".
Insofar as "guidance" is translated into control, enforcement, and excessive discipline, however, children will continue to falter. The conditions for children to value themselves - and hence others - will only be created when they are provided a space to be themselves within which they also receive true guidance and support. The purpose of education is to instruct children regarding issues of diversity with respect to people, thought, lifestyles, events, etc. - and to then help provide them with the tools that will be necessary for them to thrive out in the world. This is an ethos of public education that is both democratic and truly respectful of human rights - and that, moreover, many in Kunitachi have struggled to make a reality.
Just what, then, exactly is the value system and the understanding of child mentality that is presently forcefully seeking to overturn the ethos described above? An investigation of the language used within mass media reports helps to shed understanding into this matter.
5 Meaning of the self-prostration reports
Media coverage of the graduation ceremony incident at Daini Elementary School was purposely sensationalized with the deliberate use of the loaded word "prostration" to describe the students' call for their principal's apology. Needless to say, right-wingers and politicians were swift in their response to this type of language.
This word - only one of the many words exchanged during the nearly two hour conversation with students - was deliberately selected by the principal for inclusion in his incident report. The principal himself admits that the word was used only once or twice, however, and students who were onlookers during the incident report that the word did not stand out from among the others used that day.
Nevertheless, this provocative word was included in the newspaper story headline. As a result, the local Board of Education set out to investigate whether this word actually had been used, since if it had, they alleged that serious repercussions were at stake.
The media continued to use the word "prostration" repeatedly, despite the fact that the principal even admits no apologetic self-prostration ever took place that day - even going as far as to use the untrue phrase "the self-prostration incident at Daini Elementary School."
Particularly shocking for readers was the story's false allegation that the "children at Daini Elementary School, the products of a biased education from the school's teachers, forced their principal to self-prostrate in apology." Once stated as such, however, this type of input is not easily forgotten. As a result, there are still school graduates, employees, and parents who are suffering damage from this media-fed imagery.
Working in collusion to achieve maximum effect, then, the mass media, right-wing organizations, and educational administration saw their efforts rewarded by the public's response to the reactionary newspaper report of the school incident.
It is also worth pointing out that to a child's mind, the act of the self-prostrating apology - due in part to the frequency with which it is seen on television - is not something extraordinary or uncommon. Also, putting this particular incident aside, it is not at all uncommon for students to use rough or provocative language with their teachers. When this occurs, not only do teachers caution the students not use such language, but they also try to understand what may have motivated the student to speak in such a way, and to therefore try and prevent it from re-occurring. Why, however, would this type of educational issue make its way so forcefully into the adult political arena as it has done in this case?
* Problematic values in Japanese society
The obstruction to children's rights described in this report thus far is not solely the result of systematic problems, nor of the political aims that were capitalized upon by the mass media. In addition, this obstruction of rights is symptomatic of a problem within society-at-large with regard to social values.
The post-war Constitution of Japan laid out a shift in these social values, which may be seen via the introduction of such concepts of democracy, human rights, and peace. However, surface level change often belies the fact that a shift in peoples' entrenched values actually requires much longer in order to truly take effect. An observation of present-day society, for example, reveals that concepts such as democracy and human rights have not actually taken root in Japan. Rather, pre-war ideals such as authoritarianism, feudalism, and conservatism continue to take strong hold in society today. Moreover, even though perhaps not stipulated by law, interpersonal interactions remain dictated by the mores of tradition, manners, differentiation, morality, and common wisdom with respect to gender, age, and hierarchical social relations - this last of which, moreover, continues to permeated Japanese society at all levels.
The presumption that the individual exists in order to maintain society, moreover, is much stronger in Japan than the idea that society exists in order to protect individuals. At the same time, the neo-nationalism presently being cultivated within the age of economic globalization is also resulting in an intensification of right-wing activity worldwide - which is in turn strengthening the conservative agenda in Japan domestically.
In Kunitachi, following the March 2000 incident at Daini Elementary School, there exists a fundamental discrepancy in opinion among the school's teachers and parents - who believe that there was a fundamental violation of children's human rights in accordance with the incident - and the educational administration overseers, who insist otherwise.
It may perhaps sound simplistic to assert that there exists a fundamental lack of human rights awareness among educational administrational officials. However, these officials continue to deny that any rights violation took place in conjunction with this incident, continuing instead only to ascribe to the media-fed illusory image of "thirty children demanding that their principal self-prostrate in apology." Clearly, the administration seems to strongly share the media's views with respect to the assumptions regarding the children in this situation.
* Adult views of children as revealed through the "self-prostration" reports
A further look at this type of media coverage reveals more insight into the existing social views of children that likely led to their being portrayed in such a manner.
Such views hold that children are somehow incomplete beings who are incapable of thinking on their own, and who therefore require supervision and control from those who are superior to them - adults - to whom in turn they are not to raise either their objections or desires. Following this theory, therefore, a twelve-year old would never carry an opinion with regard to the Hinomaru national flag or anthem, and any comment made with regard to such issues would clearly have had to require prompting from someone such as a teacher.
Likewise, it was assumed by the media, right-wingers, Board of Education members, and school principal that the children at Daini Elementary School who questioned the principal regarding the raising of the Hinomaru national flag, demanded that it be taken down, and asked for an apology were somehow acting outside of the capacity of "normal" child-like behavior.
A seemingly opposite viewpoint holds as follows: "Insofar as children have equivalent characters to those of adults, they are to be regarded as somewhat developed individuals. They have the same worries and joys as adults, and we must therefore treat them equally. They are able to interpret the meaning of their own actions, and therefore must be held accountable as such. It is not appropriate to focus on them as victims in this situation."
The above is a quote from the Kunitachi Superintendent of Education, an individual who seems to possess both rationality and an understanding of the matter of children's human rights. However, he also suggests that children bear some responsibility for the unfortunate results of their self-expression in this case - clearly a limited interpretation of the idea of Respect for the Views of Children. Still apparent within this line of thinking is the assumption that children are meant to silently submit to the will of adults, and even in the case whereby they have doubts or uncertainties, they should keep them discreet.
Under the assumption that adults and children exist in a relationship of hierarchy, the suggestion of children demanding the self-prostrating apology of an adult is both shocking and an insult to the pride of the adult in question. Moreover, in its portrayal of the school graduation incident, the mass media capitalized on the fact that adults in Japan felt this way and were therefore likely to react with indignation to the story.
Furthermore, through the deliberate use of the term "prostration", the media were able to portray the image that the children at Daini Elementary School were engaging in base acts that were attributable to the biased education they were receiving at the school. This reveals a deliberate intention to create a pathological image of these children - the bashing of which would therefore provide fertile ground upon which to plant imagery of the "ideal" child.
* What is our true image of children?
Media sensationalism aside, what may be said to be our true image of children today? Children are both independent beings able to think for themselves, as well as being a vital part of larger society. They take in the thoughts and perspectives of the adult society within which they exist, and then proceed to develop their own opinions, engage in their own actions, and choose their own lifestyle.
Because the educational administration neglected to either lodge any protest against the newspaper company or to make any denial of its reports, therefore, they in fact ended up confirming the false coverage. In order to rectify this mistruth, school staff and the parents of the children involved sought legal assistance from the Bar Association in conducting an incident investigation by asking the children to describe the actual events. The most striking result of this investigation was the indignation with which the children reacted to the incorrect assumption on the part of adults that they were acting in response to their teacher's prompting, and not their own volition. Another prominent reaction among the students was gratitude to have the chance to tell their version of the story, which had not previously occurred. This made it clear just how important it was to give a voice to the children themselves in the context of this incident.
Moreover, this also makes it immediate clear that it is pure fallacy to conclude that a 12 year-old is incapable of holding his or her own opinion with regard to the matter of the national flag and anthem. Incidentally, in addition to this being wrong in and of itself, it is also misleading to group a diverse category of individuals together into a uniform category termed "12 year-olds."
Sixth-graders study such topics as history and Japanese Constitutional Law in their social issues course, and they are also continually learning from their family, the media, and their communities. It is therefore completely plausible that the students at Daini Elementary School would have been aware of the 1999 passage of the Hinomaru national flag and Anthem Law, as well as its impact upon local school graduation ceremonies. In fact, insofar as children are not isolated from the society within which they live, it is likely that some students would have discussed this issue at home with their families and already formed their own opinions.
Additionally, while the incident was portrayed as if the students were protesting against the Hinomaru national flag, in actuality their major issue of contention was that they had not been consulted with regard to its display. Whether with regard to classroom study, play time, club activities, school events, etc., the students had grown accustomed to the process of first holding discussions amongst themselves to make decisions - and then being involved throughout the entire process of executing those decisions. This was the cause of their dissatisfaction with the school principal, who had not adhered to this fundamental process with regard to the school event. In raising this topic of concern to the principal on the last day of their elementary school life, moreover, the students were merely repeating what they did every day in school to their teacher: ask questions and voice opinions.
The only desires of the media, however, were to capitalize upon the fact that the students had dared question the authority symbols of the Hinomaru national flag and their school principal; and to deliberately use the sensationalist wording of "prostration" in order to criticize the children's actions that day.
As a result of existing social views of children and education, moreover, educational administration officials were swift to respond to this news coverage and urge the implementation of "normalization" efforts within Kunitachi schools.
6 Realizing democratic education
* Relationship of trust between students and teachers
Prior to the graduation ceremony incident, a relationship of trust had been established at Daini Elementary School between students and teachers whereby students voiced their doubts and concerns, to which the teachers would then respond accordingly. Additionally, the children were accustomed to making decisions via the process of engaging in discussions amongst each other. There was a tacit understanding among school staff, parents and the children themselves that the school's education was one in which the children's independence was cultivated, and where children were responsible for events at which they themselves were the main focus. Within this climate, therefore, it becomes naturally understandable that students were legitimately confused when they were not consulted with respect to the display of the Hinomaru national flag. Moreover, given the tacit understanding as explained above, it was then the responsibility for school staff to provide an explanation to students in order to address their questions regarding this breach in process.
In this regard, then, it is clear that the United Nations article of Respect for the Views of the Child was securely protected in the context of the teacher-student relationship at this school. This is clearly not the case, however, for the students' relationship with the school principal.
In ordinary circumstances, any school proceeding which involved the students was required to be explained to them. In this case, then, it follows that the principal should have explained this change in proceedings to the students. To the contrary, however, the principal's approach to the situation was first to ignore the opinions of teachers and students in deciding to display the flag, to then proceed to do so with no explanation, and - finally - to refuse to squarely face students' questioning with regard to the matter. In brushing off the students with comments such as "This is just the way things were decided" and "I didn't feel it was necessary to consult you students in this matter", the principal refused to engage with students in a forthright manner, and instead made comments that were obviously neglectful of their rights. Clearly, the principal lacked any concept of the existence of children's human rights in the first place.
Responsibility for this situation cannot be pinned on the principal of Daini Elementary School alone, however. Principals of all Kunitachi public schools were under intense pressure from the municipal Board of Education to display the Hinomaru national flag during graduation ceremonies, with no hint of any understanding regarding children's rights. The content of Daini Elementary School principal's report regarding the day's proceedings, moreover, also reflected this pressure coming from above.
* Realizing democratic education
A democratic system of education that is respectful of children's human rights cannot be created by the relationship of students and teachers alone. If a democratic and independent relationship does not also exist between and among school staff members, teachers and educational administrators, schools and parents, schools and Boards of Education, etc., children will not learn to respect either themselves or others, and nor will they learn to uphold the tenets of a true democracy.
The case of education in Kunitachi represents one whereby what was once a democratic educational system was in fact deliberately dismantled by a system of reform - a system that was also characterized by the strengthening of the hierarchy that rose upward from teachers to the school principal to the Kunitachi City Board of Education to the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education.
This climate also naturally resulted in children becoming the objects of regulated control within the school. The mere idea of children questioning anything that come from the powers above was no longer even imaginable. Naturally, having been accustomed to their thoughts and independence being respected, this shift was the source of great discomfort on the part of the students themselves.
When adults interact with children, they are responsible for providing explanations. Children then have the right, moreover, to express themselves by asking questions and receiving replies to those questions until they feel satisfied.
While children's right to receive an education must also obviously be protected, this does not translate exclusively into the act of amassing knowledge within a classroom. For example, in learning about history and the Japanese Constitution, part of this education comes from seeing how these are actually played out within society itself.
* Human rights of school staff
In attempting to flesh out such concepts as the origins of the Japanese Constitution, democracy and public education, and in trying to provide solid resistance against efforts to implement what is essentially an authoritarian form of education, teachers themselves have experienced a violation of their own human rights. In order to protect the human rights of their students, then, the teachers must inevitably first struggle to protect their own.
The following were listed as some of the justifications for the punishments handed down to teachers following the March 2000 graduation incident at Daini Elementary School:
* The wearing of peace ribbons, which symbolized the wish for peace as well as the protest against compulsory usage of the Hinomaru national flag and Kimigayo national anthem
* Asking the principal when the Hinomaru national flag would be taken down from the roof
* Making "inappropriate statements" to the principal in front of students, who then followed suit by doing the same
Additionally, four teachers at Kunitachi Daigo Public Elementary School received punishments for creating and distributing to parents a flyer that explained the teachers' opposition to the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem.
These punishments were followed by the implementation of strict controls at public elementary and middle schools in Kunitachi. For example, the use of the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem at graduation and entrance ceremonies in 2001 was handed down as a strict order before it had the chance even to be discussed among school staff. Gone was the decision-making process whereby an issue was debated until consensus was reached. Instead, strict directives were issued from the Kunitachi City Board of Education, culminating in a pre-ceremony memorandum which stated that any opposition to the proceedings on the part of school staff would be met with punishment.
Through directives such as those for the music teacher to provide accompaniment to the Kimigayo national anthem, and for teachers to refrain from wearing peace ribbons, then, the freedom of these teachers to express their own principles and beliefs was in clear violation. Moreover, teachers were forcibly made to oversee students' conduct during the proceedings, and were informed that they themselves would in fact be held responsible in cases whereby students refused to stand or sing for the Kimigayo national anthem - another instance of blatant disregard for the autonomy of students. By placing the teachers in charge of monitoring the students' free expression, therefore, a situation was created whereby teachers were no longer able either to provide objective explanations to students or to protect the students' speech and actions.
Furthermore, the "inappropriate statements" on the part of teachers that were cited as justifications for punishment were never preceded or followed by any explanation of just what were the existing standards of either "appropriateness" or "inappropriateness." Additionally, to use student comments as the basis by which to punish teachers is a clear violation of the students' protection of thought, belief, and privacy. The deliberate creation of a situation whereby the students felt guilty for the teachers' punishment, moreover, was another mechanism by which the students' free will was curtailed.
Rather than standing in opposition to each other, the human rights of students and of teachers are actually two expressions of the same ideal. Closely intertwined with this ideal, moreover, are parents' educational rights. With the present state of affairs, however, all three are having to fight structurally against the massive power of the state in order to attempt to secure their rights.
7 Children's human rights and women's consciousness
Because of the sensationalizing of the incident at the Daini Elementary School graduation ceremony, much was revealed with regard to the power workings and structure of consciousness within Japanese society. It appeared that the obstacles to achieving the protection of human rights were actually increasing, and that there was a tangible threat to free expression on the part of both adults and children. While this proved to have disastrous effects in the schools, the situation did prove to have certain positive aspects insofar as new and powerful liaisons were forged among parents, teachers and citizens in response. One of these important new initiatives was that of women's activism.
In response to the incident at Daini Elementary School, the mothers of the children involved asserted that the issue at hand was not limited to the Hinomaru national flag and anthem, but also concerned that of children's rights. They charged that these rights were violated by powerful political forces appropriating the principal's incident report, and that education in Kunitachi as a whole suffered as a result. Since the incident, not only have school and educational officials refused to listen to these mothers' protests, but they have forcefully countered them with their own mounting pressure. Due to this situation, mothers have clearly experienced a violation of their own educational rights as well.
Because of the permeation of Confucian thought throughout Japanese society, acts of women and children standing up to authority are met with considerable backlash. Within this climate, therefore, many women who witnessed the continuing criticism of Daini Elementary school students felt that in addition to the children being affected, this was also representative of the continuing affront to their own rights as well. Viewing the unjust discrimination against women and children as inextricably linked, these women felt that this was an occasion in which to urge the respect of human rights for both. As a result, when the students' mothers chose to support their children's words and actions rather than simply dismissing the criticism against the students, they were joined by many other women who offered their strong support to this effort.
In facing up to the difficult issues of what it means to protect children, as well as what must be done to face up to the powers that be in the process, the role and lifestyle of these mothers also naturally was questioned. In order to restore to the children the trust that they had lost in adults and in society in general, it would be necessary for adults to show that they too could work together in relationships based on equality. In order to protect children from right-wing groups, the mass media, other powerful social agents, and the stigmatization of ordinary people, one available tactic is certainly to simply remain silent. Summoning up the courage to stand up to these forces that have committed violations against children, however, is a powerful choice that offers the potential to both learn and change a great deal.
Due to the tangible ideological gap existing between these mothers and administrative officials with regard to children's rights - the formers' being based upon the children's happiness and that of the latter upon a mere image of the "ideal child" - it is apparent that the starting point from which to fight for change is the act of defining children's school education. If this opportunity is missed, the path that Japanese society is carving out for its children promises only future dangers.
Within this apparent regression to pre-war values presently taking place in Japanese society, there is also a strong drive to return women to the role of housewives who fulfill the ideal of "good wife, wise mother." As women's life options have continued to diversify, however, a situation has resulted whereby there are varying levels of compliance in response to such social directives. While some mothers criticize the school system, some other mothers with an opposite perspective work to strongly restrain these criticisms. Therefore, we may see some mothers who define the graduation ceremony incident as a clear violation of children's human rights in the school which must be protested; a majority of mothers who are indifferent to the incident; and some mothers who side with the authoritarian status quo.
This clearly represents several problematic aspects to the issue of women's status in society, as well as a host of other issues that were never properly resolved in postwar Japan. For the women who, in exploring the matter of how to protect children's human rights also ran straight into the issue of protecting human rights for women themselves, there is the sincere hope that these two issues will continue to be explored - and eventually resolved - together.
Conclusion
Public education in Japan is presently facing a situation whereby political directives are continuing to exert increasingly strong influence, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure educational autonomy and independence. Within this climate, public schools in Kunitachi have faced particularly intense political pressure over the last several years. Looking back historically, schools in this area were one of only a few nationwide where education was truly protected with regard to freedom, autonomy, and democracy. Also characteristic of the area was respect for the ideals of autonomy in general; strong community activism; a high regard for education; cooperative alliances between school teachers, parents and other citizens; and a history of voicing opinions to local educational administration in order to protect education from a variety of administrative pressure and directives.
However, this background was regarded as acting to fetter educational reform, and as a result, these voices were attacked all the more. It was therefore both tragic and highly unfair for the children involved that the March 2002 graduation ceremony at Daini Elementary School was clearly exploited because of the criticisms existing against the Kunitachi educational system.
The incident of Daini Elementary School has progressed in a manner consistent with the desire of the state to reform school education in order to produce citizens in accordance with its idealistic image. At the same time, it has also been revealed that values previously existing in the educational system of Kunitachi have been lost along the way.
The voices of the children still resound:
"Even though the school principal will experience countless graduation ceremonies, this was the one and only time for us in our lives."
"Are we going to still be blamed for what happened that day even when we are grown up?"
Nevertheless, the train of educational reform has long since departed - and its corrosive effects are being felt pervasively throughout the school. And throughout it all, we continue the struggle to restore to the children the dignity that was taken from them on that fateful day.
October 2002
1 Tool of state control over education that is advocated by right-wing politicians and educational administration officials
[KH1]Tool of state control over education that is advocated by right-wing politicians and educational administration officials
4