Overview

• The resolution, adopted on September 24, asks the mayor and education superintendent to survey elementary and junior high students about whether they can sing Kimigayo.
• It seeks responses on items including ability to sing the anthem, whether it was taught in music class, and whether it is sung at entrance and graduation ceremonies.
• Councilor Tomoyose Eizo proposed the measure, citing curriculum guidelines and a need to gauge recognition and proficiency for future instruction.
• The Ishigaki Board of Education said it will consider the decision and has not approved or designed any survey.
• Opposition councilors and education sociologist Hirota Teruyuki cautioned that such questioning could coerce pupils and threaten freedom of thought, noting national guidance to teach the anthem without intruding on inner beliefs and recalling a 2023 Suita City survey that drew official criticism.