symbols at every school ceremony, but the teachers at Sera High School vehemently opposed the practice. Ishikawa took his own life after failing to win support of his teachers on this issue. Ishikawa's suicide, along with the protests by teachers at the graduation ceremony at Sera High School, prompted Prime minister Keizo Obuchi of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to draft legislation to make the Hinomaru and Kimigayo the official symbols of Japan. He intended for the legislation to be introduced in 2000, but his Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hiromu Nonaka, wanted it in effect by November 1999, the tenth anniversary of the coronation of Emperor Akihito. This is not the first time legislation was proposed to make the Hinomaru and Kimigayo official symbols. After the return of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 and the global oil crisis of 1973, then-Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei hinted in 1974 at the passage of a law that would legalize use of both symbols, a move done partially to increase his popularity with conservative voters. At the time of his suggestion, the Japan Teachers Union was opposed to using the anthem because it "smacked of emperor worship" and was seen as a connection to pre-war militarism. Although the literacy rate in Japan was 99 percent at the time, many students did not know what Kimigayo even was or how to sing it. In addition to instructing the schools to teach and play Kimigayo, Kakuei wanted students to raise the flag and read the Imperial Rescript on Education, pronounced by the Meiji Emperor in 1890, every morning. Kakuei was unsuccessful in passing the legislation through the Diet. Party positions In support The main conservative parties of Japan, the LDP and the Liberal Party, were the chief supporters of the 1999 bill. LDP general secretary Yoshirō Mori stated in June of that year that the Japanese people had accepted both the Hinomaru and Kimigayo as national symbols. The president of the Liberal Party, Ichiro Ozawa, echoed the same sentiment and believed that the Diet could not conclude otherwise. The New Komeito (also known as the Clean Government Party, or CGP) was initially cautious about the bill. Although some of its leadership conceded that both symbols were accepted by the people, they believed that establishing the idea as a law could be a violation of the Japanese Constitution. The CGP eventually supported the bill in exchange for being