Court orders Shiki mayor to allow teachers to use city hall

The Saitama District Court on June 28 ordered the Shiki City mayor to cancel his refusal to permit the All Japan Teachers and Staff Union (Zenkyo) to use the public hall for its annual convention.

In anticipation of a peaceful convention, the court judged that "possible threat of right-wing organizations to the convention" cannot be fair grounds for the mayor to bar Zenkyo from using the hall.

The teachers' union, which had asked the court to order the mayor to forgo his rejection, published a statement calling for the mayor to immediately revoke his decision. The union expressed its determination to make efforts to bring the convention to success as a forum to further develop education. (end)