-Caveat Lector- Japan Cabinet Backs Rising Sun Flag By JOSEPH COLEMAN .c The Associated Press TOKYO (AP) - Japan's Cabinet voted to give official status to the rising sun flag and the imperial anthem Friday, two symbols long criticized as linked to the country's militaristic past. The legislation making the ``Hinomaru'' - a scarlet disc on a white background - the national flag and the ``Kimigayo'' song the national anthem now moves to Parliament for consideration. The vote followed a dispute between the Education Ministry, which has pushed schools to display the flag and sing the anthem, and pacifist teachers and other groups opposed to the symbols. The conflict peaked earlier this year when a high school principal in Hiroshima, a hotbed of opposition to the flag and anthem, committed suicide while caught in an emotional debate over whether to use the Hinomaru and Kimigayo at an upcoming graduation ceremony. The flag and anthem have been defacto national symbols for decades, but postwar governments have shied away from giving them legal status because many people consider them emblems of Japanese militarism that led to World War II. Many schools have refused to fly the flag and sing the anthem. After the suicide in Hiroshima, the government moved to clear up the ambiguity. ``It is important to establish clearly in a written law a custom that has been long accepted by the people,'' Education Minister Akito Arima said after Friday's Cabinet decision. In a concession to opponents, however, the legislation does not include a requirement that Japanese pay respect to the flag and anthem - leaving it unclear how the symbols will be used in the future. Government officials have said in the past that the bill would still not require schools to use them. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party hopes to win parliamentary approval of the bill in the current session, but opposition by leftist parties could delay its passage. Respect for the flag and anthem has long been a favorite cause among Japan's right-wingers. An extremist who stabbed and wounded a school principal in Osaka last week said he wanted to draw more attention to the issue. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
