A Japanese court for the first time yesterday punished a teacher for disrespecting the national anthem, which liberals associate with World War II militarism, officials said.
Retired instructor Katsuhisa Fujita, 65, was fined ¥200,000 (US$1,800) but escaped prison time for delaying a graduation ceremony when he urged the audience to stay seated during the national anthem.
The anthem, Kimigayo, or "His Majesty's Reign," praises the emperor. Critics say it harks back to the militarism under late Emperor Hirohito, who was considered divine during World War II.
It is the first known time that a court has punished a teacher over the anthem, although the Tokyo metropolitan education board has disciplined 345 teachers for refusing orders to honor it, a board official said.
"It's clear that there was concern that the defendant's behavior may have negatively impacted the smooth running of the ceremony," Judge Hitoshi Murase of the Tokyo District Court said in handing down the fine.
But he refused prosecutors' demands to imprison Fujita for eight months.
"Considering the actual interruption in the ceremony was short, it is not appropriate to order imprisonment," said the judge, as quoted by Jiji Press.
Fujita, who had retired before the incident, said he was practicing his right to free speech.
"I regard the ¥200,000 fine as opposed to eight months in prison as a de facto acquittal. I will appeal the ruling, though," he said.
Japan has gradually been adopting symbols of patriotism it shunned after World War II, causing concern in neighboring countries invaded by imperial Tokyo.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has infuriated China and South Korea by visiting a shrine to the war dead, has backed legislation that would promote "patriotism" in schools for the first time since World War II.
According to the court verdict, Fujita shouted at parents of graduating high school students: "Today we have an extraordinary ceremony and teachers will be punished if they don't stand and sing the national anthem. Please stay seated on your chairs when singing."
When senior colleagues tried to stop him, Fujita told them, "Don't touch me. Why are you trying to push me out?"
Emperor Akihito, the late wartime emperor's son who is forbidden from meddling in politics, has made unusually open comments recently saying that people should not be forced to respect the anthem and flag.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
RSS