Photo/Illutration Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura answers questions from reporters on Nov. 9 about parades marking the league championships won by the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes. (Juntaro Oka)

OSAKA--A government request for help with a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs of Nov. 23 parades for Kansai region champion professional baseball teams is not a big hit with local educators.

“This could amount to coercing teachers into making donations,” one educator grumbled.

Some raised concerns about the document issued by the Osaka prefectural government regarding the parades honoring the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers and the Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes.

It is being organized by an executive committee made up of prefectural and city governments and economic organizations.

The document from the executive committee’s secretariat, dated Nov. 7, was sent to prefectural school principals, according to the prefectural government.

It was posted on a portal site for teachers on the same day by the Osaka Prefectural Education Agency, which received a request from the secretariat.

The document is titled, “Notice about crowdfunding for the event (request)” and says that 500 million yen ($3.6 million) is needed for operational costs such as security for the parades, which will be held in Osaka and Kobe on Labor Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday. 

It adds, “We ask for your cooperation in notifying teachers and staffers” and “Please apply for the crowdfunding outside of work hours.”

Koji Yoneyama, secretary-general of the Osaka teachers and staff union, said, “This could be taken as silent pressure on teachers and staff to donate.”

The same document was also posted on a website for staff other than teachers, according to prefectural officials.

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said in a news conference on Nov. 9, “We are not demanding donations. It is not for the local administration to keep track of whether staff have made donations.”

Tetsuhiko Nakajima, a professor emeritus of educational administration at Nagoya University, said, “(The document) says it is just a notice, but it is natural for teachers and staff who read it to feel that they are being asked to donate.”

“If the document is a notice, it should have clearly stated that it was not a call for donations,” he said.

VOLUNTEERS NUMBERS SET BY DEPARTMENT

Osaka prefectural and city governments called for around 3,000 officials to volunteer for the event, in roles such as guiding visitors.

The Osaka city government has set the number of officials required for each department.

Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters on Nov. 9, “We told them how many were needed because there is the variation in department sizes from larger to smaller.”

Although it is not mandatory for officials to participate in the event, multiple city officials told The Asahi Shimbun that their bosses in their departments had indicated a target number of officials needed as volunteers.

“Being given a number feels the same as being compelled to volunteer,” one official said.

(This article was written by Fumina Oka, Juntaro Oka and Tatsuya Harada.)

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