 1,400 Tokyo citizens hold rally in opposition to adverse revision of basic education law About 1,400 citizens of Tokyo on February 5 held a rally to block the adverse revision of the Fundamentals of Education Law and of the Constitution. The meeting was organized at the call of 57 people, including Horio Teruhisa, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, who called for the two laws to be defended in Tokyo where Governor Shintaro Ishihara criticizes the Constitution. Komori Yoichi, professor at the University of Tokyo, questioned if the people accept a course of education that approves death in the interests of the state. Ten people who are carrying out a variety of movements in Tokyo in opposition to the imposition of the "Hinomaru" flag and the song "Kimigayo" on schools attended. Maruki Masaomi, Wako Gakuen president, talked with essayist Pak Kyongnam. Maruki pointed out that education becomes oppressive and militaristic every time a Japanese prime Minister follows a war that the United States began. Stating that the Constitution's Article 9 is the lifeline to the peoples of Asia and particularly to Korean residents in Japan, Pak called on the meeting participants to together defend Japan's top law. The meeting adopted an appeal in opposition to the adverse revision of the basic education law and the Constitution, and to authorizing a history textbook that distorts facts by giving a militaristic viewpoint. (end) |