One million signatures submitted to Diet in opposition to adverse revision of education law

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One million signatures submitted to Diet in opposition to adverse revision of education law

Aiming at preventing the ruling parties from railroading a bill to adversely revise the Fundamental Law of Education through the House of Councilors, the People' Big Movement Organizing Committee and three other organizations on December 6 submitted to the Diet one million signatures in opposition to the bill.

About 800 teachers and citizens took part in this action. Later in the day, more than 500 people joined a sit-in action carried out in front of the Diet Building. Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ishii Ikuko and Upper House member Kami Tomoko encouraged the participants.

In a separate action, some 4,000 people formed a human chain in front of the Diet, lighting candles to express opposition to the government bill.

Ohta Takashi, former Japanese Society for the Study of Education chair and professor emeritus at Tokyo University, in his speech stated, "Defending the Fundamental Law of Education is defending the peace in Asia."

JCP House of Representatives member Akamine Seiken and House of Councilors member Nihi Sohei and Social Democratic Party President Fukushima Mizuho also joined in the action.

In public hearings that the Upper House special committee on the education law held in Kofu City and Shizuoka City on the same day, most of the speakers called on the special committee to take its time to thoroughly discuss the bill.

Senshu University Professor Minei Masaya at the hearing in Shizuoka stated, "I urge the special committee to carefully and thoroughly discuss the bill. Educationalists are very concerned about the Diet discussion." He pointed out that the government bill fails to refer to the rights of children, going against the recommendations that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has made twice.

Also on that day, three former elementary and junior high school principals at a press conference in Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture announced that 56 former school principals in the prefecture have expressed their support for an appeal calling for opposition to the adverse revision of the education law.

Pointing out that as many as 66 percent of public elementary and junior high school principals across the country are against the bill, the appeal calls on the House of Councilors to scrap the bill through prudent discussions.
- Akahata, December 7, 2006