My view of "the 3 month suspension to Kimiko Nezu" including some strong advice to the Teachers Association

On March 31st the Board of Education for Metropolitan Tokyo handed a 3 month suspension to Kimiko Nezu for not standing during the 40 seconds while Kimigayo, the Japanese national anthem, played in the graduation ceremony.

The issue here is not whether you feel sorry for Kimiko; no, the issue is very important for our society.
Can the Board of Education or Governor Ishihara explain the reason for Kiimiko Nezu's punishment to countries, especially Western countries?.
In view of this punishment, perhaps other countries will not regard Japan as a democratic country.

I feel more angry than sad. The Teachers Association should support teachers and protest against this admonishment.

Not "support" - They should fight against compulsory Hinomaru Kimigayo. All people who believe in democracy should fight against this.

There are many people whose reason of opposing Hinomaru Kimigayo is just only they don't like the imperial system.

It is not an enough understanding.

Hinomaru Kimigayo is just a loyalty test; making it compulsory means that people are forced to be obedient to authority, to give up criticizing authority. Giving up the right to criticize authority means giving up a fundamental right and is related to the core of people's spirit.

I have watched the process of Oki's work situation change from peaceful to fearful because of loyalty tests, mandatory calisthenics and bullying instructions not to take flyers from fired workers.

For Oki workers refusing loyalty tests was more important than an individual's working conditions.
But the labor union didn't fight against this, in the end the workers lost all their rights.

Today many people are against the revision of the fundamental education laws.
I believe that if we cannot stop the forcing of Hinomaru Kimigayo, we will not be able to stop the revision of other laws and we will also not be able to stop the revision of the constitution.

On a harsher note, how can I trust people who are not against Hinomaru Kimigayo? Even if they say they are against other laws I do not believe they are serious if they are not interest in the issue of Hinomaru Kimigayo.
Moreover, It is impossible to stop the revision of the constitution for the people who are standing during Kimigayo playing.

If every teacher who believed that forcing Hinomaru Kimigayo is unjust, didn't stand for while Kimigayo was playing, the authorities could not admonish everyone, they could not punish every teacher.
And even if they did admonish all the teachers, it would become a huge problem for the whole of Japanese society and would stimulate discussion about the issue providing information and knowledge which still we don't have.

To organize such an act is a duty of the teachers association.

I know that there is a deep regret, school education took part in Japanese totalitarianism during the war era, in the basic philosophy of Teachers Association. .

Therefore the existence of the Teachers Association was significant as it influenced not only teachers but also peace in Japan.
As a result many people and organizations tried to make solidarity and to support the association.

However today it seems that the aim of the teachers association is only to protect their interest.

To protect only one's interest it is better being obedient to the company than joining a labor union.
And so the organization, the labor union, should keep its basic philosophy.To protect the justice of society. That should be its priority.

Otherwise as a result the organization will become weak and finally it will lose even the power to protect its member's individual interest , just as the Oki labor union did.

Now Kimiko Nezu is struggling in front of the gate of her school.
I ask you to support her mentally, physically, financially.