Wakayama grades anthem-singing by teachers, students at local schools

The Wakayama prefectural board of education has been appraising how well teachers and students sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at school ceremonies since April 1999, board officials said Wednesday. "The appraisal is in line with the nation's school curriculum guidelines, which seek respect for the anthem," a board official said.

According to the board, its officials sit in on entrance and graduation ceremonies at elementary and junior high schools and grade the singing on a scale of "good," "relatively good" and "poor."The education board has also checked if the singing is part of the ceremony, if the anthem is sung to a piano accompaniment or to recorded music, and where the "Hinomaru" national flag is displayed.

Of some 400 schools in the western Japan prefecture, singing at seven schools was judged to be "poor" at entrance ceremonies in April 2004, but the number has remained zero since graduation ceremonies in March 2005.

Hiroichi Yamaguchi, superintendent of the prefectural education board, said, "We will collect opinions on the assessment process from local schools and district education boards, and decide whether or not the practice should be continued."

Kimigayo and Hinomaru are legally defined as Japan's national anthem and flag, respectively. However, forcing teachers and students to sing the anthem and show respect for the flag at school ceremonies has been criticized as infringing upon freedom of thought and conscience as guaranteed under the Constitution.