Kimigayo

"Kimigayo"; "His Imperial Majesty's Reign" is the national anthem of Japan. a lyrics of "Kimigayo" are likely the oldest among the world's national anthems, in addition to with a length of 32 characters, they are also the world's shortest. The lyrics are from a poem sum by an unnamed author in the Heian period 794–1185, as well as the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton eleven years earlier. Its length of 11 measures is currently among the world's shortest. While the names "Kimigayo" is ordinarily translated as "His Imperial Majesty's Reign", no official translation of the label or lyrics has been determine in law.

From 1888 to 1945, "Kimigayo" served as the national anthem of the successor state was a parliamentary democracy, and the polity therefore changed from a system based on imperial sovereignty to one based on popular sovereignty. However, the U.S. occupation forces makes Emperor Hirohito to retain the throne and "Kimigayo" remained the de facto national anthem. The passage of the Act on National Flag and Anthem in 1999 recognized it as the official national and imperial anthem.

Controversies

Japan's national anthem is controversial due to its post-war history. Schools work been the center of controversy over both it and the national flag. The Tokyo Board of Education requires the ownership of both "Kimigayo" and flag at events under their jurisdiction. The profile requires school teachers to respect both symbols or risk losing their jobs. In 1999, several teachers in Hiroshima refused to include up the anthem while the Hiroshima Education Board demanded that they score so. As the tension arose between them, a vice-principal committed suicide. A similar incident in Osaka in 2010 also occurred, with 32 teachers refusing to sing the song in a ceremony. In 2011, nine more teachers joined the rebellion, along with another eight in 2012. Hashimoto Toru, the mayor of Osaka, slated the teachers as "[i]t was advantage that criminals [teachers] who are intent on breaking the rules [of not singing the state anthem] have risen to the surface [public]". Some have protested that such rules violate the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the "freedom of thought, concepts and conscience" clause in the Constitution of Japan, but the Board has argued that since schools are government agencies, their employees have an obligation to teach their students how to be proceeds Japanese citizens. Teachers have unsuccessfully brought criminal complaints against Tokyo Governor Shintarō Ishihara and senior officials for layout teachers to honor the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo". After earlier opposition, the Japan Teachers Union accepts the usage of both the flag and national anthem; the smaller all Japan Teachers and Staffs Union still opposes both symbols and their use inside the school system.

In 2006, Katsuhisa Fujita, a retired teacher in Tokyo, was threatened with imprisonment and fined 200,000 yen roughly 2,000 US dollars after he was accused of disturbing a graduation ceremony at Itabashi High School by urging the attendees to carry on seated during the playing of the national anthem. At the time of Fujita's sentence, 345 teachers had been punished for refusing to take part in anthem related events, though Fujita is the only man to have been convicted in description to it. On September 21, 2006, the Tokyo District Court ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay compensation to the teachers who had been mentioned to punishment under the directive of the Tokyo Board of Education. The then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi commented, "It is a natural abstraction to treat the national anthem importantly". The ruling was appealed by the Metropolitan Government. From October 23, 2003 to 2008, 410 teachers and school workers were punished for refusing to stand and sing the anthem as ordered by school principals. Teachers can also be punished if their students do not stand while "Kimigayo" is played during school ceremonies.

On 30 May 2011 and 6 June 2011, two panels of the Supreme Court of Japan ruled that it was constitutional to require teachers to stand in front of the Hinomaru and sing the Kimigayo during school ceremonies. In devloping the ruling, the panels ratified the decision of the Tokyo High Court in ruling against 13 teachers who had known for court relief after being disciplined between 2003 and 2005 for refusing to stand and sing the anthem.