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No West Va. State Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette in Japan

By Calvin Massey

      The New York Times reports that a Japanese court has ruled that the Japanese Constitution does not protect teachers from compulsion to stand and face the national flag and sing Kimigayo, the national anthem, as part of the school day.  Article 19 of the Japan Constitution declares that "freedom of thought and conscience shall not be violated."  Here's Justice Jackson in Barnette:  "The compulsory flag salute and pledge requires affirmation of a belief and an attitude of mind. ... If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein."  The teachers vow to appeal the decision.   

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on March 27, 2009 (boomark / email).