Koganei City's ordinance abolishing child recruitment for nursery schools is ``invalid,'' Tokyo District Court rules

In a lawsuit filed by a mother who was unable to leave her child in the Tokyo area, the former mayor of Koganei City, Tokyo, passed an ordinance abolishing the recruitment of children at some municipal nursery schools. The court rescinded the disposition and ordered the city to pay compensation of 100,000 yen, stating that ``the exclusive disposition is illegal and the ordinance is invalid.''

Former Koganei City Mayor Shinichiro Nishioka submitted a bill to the assembly to revise the ordinance to gradually reduce the recruitment of children at two municipal nursery schools due to aging facilities and other reasons. The ordinance was passed without a vote and the ordinance was enacted.

As a result, the mother, who was denied custody of her child, petitioned the city to cancel the sanction, claiming that the sanction was illegal.

In the ruling on the 22nd, Tokyo District Court Chief Judge Yukito Okada said, ``It cannot be said that there is a high degree of urgency to pass the resolution by a specific date and time, nor can it be said that it was difficult to obtain the resolution of the city council.The requirements are not met. It is clear that this decision is illegal, and the ordinance is invalid," and the decision to leave the child in custody was rescinded.

The city then ordered the city to pay compensation of 100,000 yen, stating that ``the plaintiff's hopes of sending her child to the same nursery school as her siblings and returning to work have been extinguished.''

Koganei City Mayor Toru Shirai said in an interview, ``We would like to carefully examine the contents of the judgment and consider future responses.''

Plaintiff: ``I'm relieved by the verdict''

At a press conference after the verdict, the plaintiff's lawyer, Sora Sato, said, ``In addition to granting the rescission, the award of compensation for mental suffering is not unusual in itself, and can be said to be a complete victory.It is legitimate and groundbreaking.'' "This is a great judgment."

In addition, a male supporter read out the message from the female plaintiff and said, ``I'm relieved that a strong verdict has been reached.The moment I heard the details of the verdict, my feelings of not giving up until now were rewarded.'' I shed tears because of the peace of mind for the future.I hope that in light of this ruling, the mayor will make an effort to fulfill his pledge, and I hope that the council members will reconsider the way they conduct the council. I think so,” he said.