Court drops 'Kimigayo' damages suit

Yokohama — The Yokohama District Court on Wednesday dismissed a damages suit filed by schoolteachers against the prefectural board of education for collecting the names of those who refused to stand during the national anthem at school ceremonies.

A total of 27 plaintiffs, including teachers at public high schools in Kanagawa Prefecture, demanded ¥1 million each in damages for mental suffering, arguing that the information collection ran counter to a prefectural personal information protection regulation that principally bans authorities' handling of information on personal thoughts and beliefs.

But presiding Judge Hiroyuki Samura ruled that it is not illegal for the board to collect and keep information on teachers who refuse to stand when "Kimigayo" is sung at school entrance and graduation ceremonies.

Although "Kimigayo" was made Japan's national anthem by law in 1999, some oppose the song's status because of its association with past Japanese militarism.

The Kanagawa prefectural board of education has since 2006 instructed school principals to report the names of teachers refusing to stand for the anthem.

In response to the plaintiffs' complaint, prefectural councils on personal information concluded on several occasions that collecting the information was inappropriate.

The board of education disposed of such information collected up until 2007, but has since continued to gather it.

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