This page is a list of Resources for building International Solidarity around issues of Education, Militarism, Globalization and Privatization.
DoroChiba, UTLA, and other Labor Resources
Sister Nezu Resource pages
"Never Send our Students to the battlefield again!" (Japanese Teachers Slogan)
Please send a letter to one of the addresses listed at the bottom of this entry to support Sister Nezu Kimiko.
NEZU Statement To UTLA Meeting On 12/14/2007 In Solidarity With Japanese Anti-War Teachers
Brothers and Sisters, rallying in this meeting!
My name is NEZU Kimiko, a teacher in Tokyo.
The directive issued on October 23, 2003 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education under the control of the Fascist Tokyo governor Ishihara, ordered that the teachers of public schools should stand up to sing Kimigayo, Japanese national anthem, in schools ceremonies and that disobedient teachers would be disciplined. Kimigayo and Hinomaru became officially national anthem and national flag respectively by the law in 1999. A substantial number of Japanese people, in spite of this, are not willing to sing Kimigayo because this song wishes Reign of Emperor to last forever and was sung to mobilize Japanese people into the aggressive war in Asia decades ago. This was the reason why the government of Liberal Democratic Party had to wait until 1999 to make Kimigayo officially national anthem.
Punishment of teachers because of their refusal of Kimigayo worship evidently violates the "freedom of thought and conscience", stipulated by the Japanese constitution. When the punishment is repeated and cumulatively strengthened, it threatens even the right to live of disobedient teachers. I refused to stand up for Kimigayo in front of Hinomaru in the graduation ceremony on March 2007 and was suspended for six months from April to September. If I once again refuse worship Hinomaru and Kimigayo in the graduation ceremony in March 2008, I will surely be dismissed. No punishment on Hinomaru and Kimigayo issue! Under this slogan, we have been developing protest actions everywhere in Japan. Just at that moment came your help to us. We whole-heartedly thank you, brothers and sisters of UTLA, AFT2121 and OEA and other labor unions, for your support to, and commitment in, our struggle. International solidarity across the ocean is an enormous encouragement to us.
In Tokyo on November 3 and 4, we had a great opportunity to receive visits of Sister Arlene Inoue and Brother Gregory Sotir of CAMS who have been successfully developing brave activities to block military recruiters in schools as well as Brother Steve Zeltzer of TWSC.
Japan seems to be following examples of the US, her ally, behind 5 years. Therefore, it is easy to find out where Japan is drifting for when we watch the situation in the US. Inevitable result of the recent Japanese development, such as increasing number of working poor, nationalistic transformation of education through enforcement of Hinomaru and Kimigayo and punishment on disobedient teachers, will be NCLB, --, the poverty draft.
We share the cause and aspirations of Sister Arlene Inouye and Brother Gregory Sotir who have been fighting to stop sending children to the battlefield to die. They told us that they will never shut their mouth in front of unjust things and that it is their duty as human being to do what they thought right. It is exactly my own credo. I was shocked and moved when I learned from them that they are practicing education for peace and education to help develop students to perceiving reality and thinking independently and that they regard it the best lesson teachers can give to the students to rise up for struggle themselves. As the discussion went further and more intensely among us, I realized with deep emotion that we share common aspiration in spite of geographical distance. I felt almost happy.
I have been thinking for 36 years ever since I became teacher that it is our important duty as teachers to tell students the facts and truth and to appear as fighting teachers before them. As the situation has become severer, I have come to sense keenly it¹s the importance of my belief. Just imagine my surprise and joy when I met them who share a common ideal. It is beyond expression.
Your struggle to kick out military recruiters from schools has changed the situation in the US and has given us precious suggestions.
Now I am telling as many people as possible that such political measures as the punishment of Nezu for the refusal of Hinomaru and Kimigayo ceremony will inevitably end in military recruitment of poor people just like in the US now. Students sharply react to my speech. It is because I have learned much from Sister Inouye, Brothers Sotir and Zeltzer and I am deeply convinced of the validity of what I speak to them.
Our counter-offensive is inevitable and necessary as the governments and corporations in the US and Japan together squeeze and throw away people as working tools for their greedy and selfish interest. Let us develop actions to refuse cooperation in war through strengthening solidarity among teachers.
I am determined to carry on struggle against unjust things together with you, rallying here.
Dec. 14, 2007
In Solidarity,
NEZU Kimiko
Sample letter below. Please highlight, save, print out, add your own thoughts, and mail.
SAMPLE LETTER
Yasuo MORIKOSHI
President of Japan Teachers’ Union
Nihon Kyoiku Kaikan Bldg., 2-6-2 Hitotsubashi,
Chiyoda-Ward, 101-0003 Tokyo, Japan
February 2008
Dear Yasuo MORIKOSHI,
We are writing in support of Sister Kimiko NEZU and Sister Junko KAWARAI and many other teachers in Japan who have courageously chosen the path of peace. The government of Japan, led by Prime Minister Yasuo FUKUDA stated in a speech on January 24, 2008 that Japan must play a responsible role in the international community as a “peace fostering nation” to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world. And yet, the government in Japan has enforced “Hinomaru” and “Kimigayo” at secondary school graduation ceremonies.
Hinomaru is the raising of the Japanese nationalist flag, a symbol of Japanese aggressive war, colonial domination and the oppressive state of the Emperor. And the words of Kimigayo mean that the reign of the Emperor may prevail forever. The Japanese teachers who have refused to stand up during the graduation ceremonies have suffered pay reductions, involuntary transfers with Sister KAWARAI threatened with a 6 month pay suspension and the firing of Sister NEZU. Japanese teachers should NOT be fired for refusing to comply with a militaristic mandate. How can it be, that Japan would punish teachers who are only affirming the Japanese constitution (Article 9) and who understand their important role as teachers to model to their students how to be peaceful citizens.
We join in solidarity with all the teachers in Japan who know the importance of resisting militarism in all of its forms. We join in solidarity with the teachers in Japan who know the importance of teachers fighting for the freedom of speech and conscience guaranteed by their Fundamental Law on Education.
We urge you to let these teachers teach and the unjust charges against them to be dropped, and their records cleared.
In peace,
Name
Organization
SAMPLE LETTER in pdf format.
Also please email or fax to: doro-chiba@doro-chiba.org
And please sign the Online Petition Drive to protect Sister Nezu
Addresses To Send Support Letters To:
1. Yasuo MORIKOSHI
President, Japan Teachers' Union
Nihon Kyoiku Kaikan Bldg., 2-6-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-Ward, 101-0003 Tokyo,
Japan
Fax: +81-3-3230-0172
2. Shigeru TANIGUCHI
President, Tokyo Metropolitan Public School Teachers' Union
Nihon Kyoiku Kaikan Bldg. 5F, 2-6-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-Ward, 101-0003
Tokyo, Japan
Fax: +81-3-5276-1312
3. Masaki IGARASHI
President, Tama and Islands Area Education Workers' Union
Apartment SUI 1F West, 1-1-6 Kita, Kunitachi-City, 186-0001 Tokyo, Japan
Fax: +81-42-574-3093
4. Shin'ichi KIKUOKA
President, Machida-City Public School Teachers' Union
1-8-29 Kanamori, Machida-City, 194-0012 Tokyo, Japan
5. Tsutomu MARUKO
President, Union of Tokyo Metropolitan School for Children with Special
Needs
3-31-3-102 Koenji Kita, Suginami-Ward, 166-0002 Tokyo, Japan
Fax: +81-3-3223-2660
Also please email or fax to: doro-chiba@doro-chiba.org +81-43-224-7197
Links To Videos & Information About This Issue
Sister Nezu's Blog
Against Coercion, a video about Sister Nezu's struggle
Online Petition Drive to protect Sister Nezu
A flyer by the National Coordinating Center of Labor Unions on Nezu's Struggle
Biographical piece on Sister Nezu Kimiko
Article on the November 3-4, 2007 rally by Steve Zeltzer
San Francisco Action video in support of sister Nezu October 5, 2007
Tokyo Teachers Action October 5, 2007
Hinomaru and Kimigayo article from Japan Times
Wikipedia entry on Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution
There is a wonderful message for our demonstration from "School Students Against War" in England sent to us by a student leader in Japan.Their homepage is here
Here is the solidarity message from school students against war. I hope to work with you closely in the future. In 2003 when Iraq was invaded 30,000 school students walked out of school in disgust over what the British government was about to do. Outside the British parliament thousands of school students congregated. We said that if an invasion of Iraq took place there would be untold carnage. We said hundreds of thousands of innocent people would die and millions of lives would be destroyed, we were proved right. We said there would be a racist backlash where muslims would be targetted, we were proved right. We said this was an imperialist strategy that was going to be extended, we were proved right. We said the world would be made a more dangerous place, we were proved right. And we have proved that young school students know how to run the country better than the politicians. Because of these hugely unpopular wars the military in the UK is facing a crisis in recruitment. This has meant the armed forces are coming into schools on a regular basis to recruit. School students and university students have been campaigning to stop this.
Already we have managed to get the teaching unions to take action over this issue. The military have been forced out of many campuses because of our work and we are fighting to ban recruitment in all schools, colleges and universities. This demonstration marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion of iraq and millions of people will be demonstrating around the world. The continued strength of the anti-war movement has had a huge effect on governments around the world. In Britain Tony Blair was forced out of office 2 years early and in the US George Bush is the most unpopular president in history because of the wars. On behalf of School Students Against War in the UK we send our full support and solidarity with this demonstration. It is so important that we keep up the pressure and show the strength of the international struggle in the face of the international imperialist aggression. The anti-war movement has been proved right so far and we will be proved right when we said we will win.
Sam Fairbairn School Students Against War