Yuzuru Nakamura, Chairman, Central Executive Committee

To: Civil Affairs Section No. 37, Tokyo District Court
For: First Oral Proceedings at Tokyo District Court: Plaintiff's Statement of Opinion
Plaintiff: Nikkyoso (Japan Teachers' Union)

June 3, 2008

The JTU National Educational Research Congress, which is held annually by Nikkyoso (Japan Teachers' Union) and individual unions, is the culminating event in a year-long cycle in which reports are compiled on the basis of the everyday educational activities and practice of teachers; discussions are held at each stage, from subcommittees in individual schools and so on to local branches and prefectural-level organizations; reporters who have delivered especially outstanding reports are selected; the national congress is convened with the participation of many teachers from around the country, who engage in exchange and discussions; and then the results are fed back to the classroom.

The JTU National Educational Research Congress is a valuable opportunity for teachers to exercise the important right of training that is stipulated in the Law for the Special Regulations Concerning Educational Public Service. Furthermore, the congress is attended by not only union members but also, as well as educational researchers, parents, ordinary citizens, children, students, and others with an interest in education. From the first meeting in 1951, the JTU National Educational Research Congress was held without interruption on 56 occasions up to and including last year.

Regarding the 57th JTU National Educational Research Congress, in the spring of last year, at the end of the 56th Congress, it was decided to hold the next national meeting at the Grand Prince Hotel Shintakanawa. Preparations went ahead for the meeting: discussions were held with the hotel, a request for security was made to the police, and close consultations took place with individual unions around the country on the selection of reporters and with the educational researchers who were scheduled to attend as joint researchers.

However, in November of last year, less than three months before the meeting was due to be held, Prince Hotels, Inc., the defendant in this court case, suddenly and unilaterally announced the cancellation of the contract. We immediately responded by asking Prince Hotels, through discussions, to withdraw its termination of the contract, but Prince Hotels' attitude did not change. Unavoidably, therefore, we chose to settle the dispute in a court of justice, and on December 4 we filed for a provisional disposition injunction in the Tokyo District Court. On two occasions the Tokyo District Court recognized the opinion of Nikkyoso, and the Tokyo High Court also ruled that "Prince Hotels must let Nikkyoso use the venue."

Each time there was a court decision recognizing Nikkyoso's right to use the venue, we requested Prince Hotels to resume consultations regarding preparations for the meeting. However, Prince Hotels refused to abide by the court decisions and did not change its attitude of refusing use of the venue right up to the last. The day before the meeting was due to be held (February 1), our request to use the venue was once again rejected, and so we were forced to cancel the plenary session of the 57th Congress.

The plenary session of the national congress is the only forum in which a large number of participants from around the country gather together and mutually confirm that there are many teachers who have an enthusiasm for educational research activities. It is a valuable forum for sharing awareness of the importance of teachers' unified efforts on educational issues, and extremely important as a forum for shared recognition of the direction of today's educational issues and activities based on the keynote reports presented at the plenary session. About 2,000 people were scheduled to participate in the plenary session of the 57th Congress. In addition, as a commemorative lecture at the plenary session, Professor Teruyuki Hirota of Nihon University was scheduled to speak on "Society and Education in the 21st Century." We were very disappointed by this unprecedented situation in which the plenary session had to be cancelled, and many union members who were scheduled to attend expressed their anger too, saying such things as "I am very disappointed, because this would have been the first time for me to attend what is just about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and "The National Educational Research Congress, which is an unparalleled event in the world, must not be allowed to be obstructed in this manner."

Since many teachers and researchers from overseas also attend the National Educational Research Congress, statements of protest regarding this year's incident were also issued by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which has 168 million members in 155 countries and territories, and Education International (EI), which represents 35 million teachers around the world.

The statement by Education International included the comment, "It is amazing that a major hotel should cancel this conference---which is recognized nationally and internationally---in defiance of court orders. As Japan's leading newspapers have rightly pointed out, this cancellation places Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly at risk." Teachers and educational researchers around the world are closely watching this court case.

In consideration of the conditions surrounding education today, the major issues at the 57th Congress were to have included the deepening of discussions on the basis of classroom practice, the understanding of results and problems, the formation of a creative curriculum based on carefully selected educational contents and rooted in the community that would guarantee "pressure-free learning," and, regarding peace, human rights, the environment, symbiosis, and so on, practical activities from the perspective of placing emphasis on each individual child and viewing children as the shapers of a peaceful society that protects human rights. In order to solve the related issues, we believe that it is important to establish a setup of cooperation and collaboration among teachers through educational research activities and, furthermore, to realize a social dialogue with parents and ordinary citizens interested in education through open educational research activities.

So far, in order to establish the freedom of assembly and academic freedom that are stipulated in the Constitution and to realize open educational research, we have endeavored to build a setup for the National Educational Research Congress that enables children, parents, parent-teacher associations, labor unions, civic groups, and a wide range of educational researchers to participate. However, if unreasonable responses like that displayed by Prince Hotels this time are permitted, open educational research will never be realized, and freedom of assembly and of educational research activities will not be guaranteed. Even after the filing of this court case, Minato City issued a strict warning to Prince Hotels for violating the Hotel Business Law, but very regrettably, Prince Hotels has not sent any word of apology to Nikkyoso or union members, and on its website Prince Hotels continues to state only its own "justifiability" in not abiding by the court decisions. The refusal of Prince Hotels to let us use the venue cannot be dismissed as simply the managerial defect of a single company. Therefore, from our position of bringing up the next generation of adult members of society, and also from our position of respecting the Constitution as citizens, we decided to bring this case to court.

We ask this court to understand the enthusiasm and pride of us union members, who continued to hold the National Educational Research Congress on 56 occasions without interruption, the anger of scheduled participants at the cancellation of the plenary session, and the importance of the social role of educational research activities steadily accumulated from educational practice around the country, and we request the court to deliver a verdict that contributes to the development of our educational research activities in the future.