I'm sorry to talk about my private story. I joined a temple of Buddhism as a believer. It's a small religion. I pay a membership fee. The reason that I am a member is that my mother was a believer. My parent's ashes are stored in that temple.

I'll give this religion the pseudonym 'B sect'.

This religion teaches people that 'B sect' is the best religion, others are evil, but I don't believe that.

The founder declared that to spread this religion is like spreading world peace and he made a political group.

The number of believer increased to 25% of all voters in the nation. Elected B sect's politician increased and they occupy over half of the member of the Diet.

Now Japan is using the small election district system, so it could happen that over half of politicians could come from that religious group.

They send bills to congress that say all Japanese people must belong to 'B sect'

Maybe you think this story is nonsense, but we can think of many possibilities. For example changing the national flag to the founder's picture, or changing the national anthem to the song to worship the founder.

Those bills continue to be passed.

Can you say that such an example is impossible?

Of course in this example the other 75% of the nation will change the ruling party in the next election.(I hope so.)

But until that time those laws will stand.

Actually those laws are invalid, because it's against the constitution. But they are valid until somebody protests these laws in court.

If the number of believers increased to 66% it's very serious.

This number can change the constitution.

In this situation the people who do not belong to this religion feel small. So B sect's believer will increase more rapidly.

People who insist that teachers should obey the rule of Hinomaru/Kimigayo, because they are public servants, will you say people who are against the forced singing of the founder's song in schools should be punished ?

Moreover if teachers were punished as criminals, what do you think about that?

I asked you before, what will you do against the passing of those bills?

Will you accept the fact that the bills were passed through congress?

Will you sing the founder's song until the next election?

Is it a rule of democracy?

The people who accept the punishment of teachers who sit while the anthem is playing, because they are public servants, will accept such an example.

Do you say that the allegory I have described is not an appropriate comparison with which to criticize the HK issue because Hinomaru /Kimigayo are a traditional song and flag?

If you say that, it is not the main issue that teachers are public servants.

But almost all people insist that reason.

The founder's song or flag should not be forced on the people, even if 90% of the people became the sect believers.

If this kind of situation occurred, people of the other religions would spend their lives fighting against this enforced worship, just as the conflict between Christians and Muslims

So democratic countries are careful about forcing symbol and religion.

There are issues that should not be decided by majority vote in democratic rule.

Many Japanese don't understand that.

These kind of laws should not be made by majority vote.

Therefore, The Law of the National Anthem and the National Flag, passed in 1999, was intended only to enforce the content of the anthem and the design of the flag.
When the law was passed, Prime Minister Obuchi promised in the Congress that the law would never be used to force anyone to practice Hinomaru/Kimigayo.

The most important point of Hinomaru/Kimigayo issue is that democratic country should not force its citizens to show respect for any
specific symbol or religion. It is not the same as " people should keep the traffic laws"

2005.6.22