Hotel Reservation Canceled to Teachers’ Union - Illegal	No.645 August 11, 2009
		Article 21 of Constitution of Japan guarantees freedom of assembly and association. The Tokyo District Court ruled on July 28 that cancellation by Prince Hotels Inc., of hotel reservation of the Japan Teachers’ Union was illegal. The court decision says that the hotel’s demand constituted blatant infringement of the basic human rights and denial of the fundamental principles of constitutional state. The corporation, however, did not accept the ruling and appealed to the higher court. A business organization has social responsibility, but the hotel renounced it. Accountability of the company is questionable. TOKYO DISTRICT COURT TURNED DOWN CLAIMS OF HOTELS GROUP Teachers’ Union Side Won Hotel Battle The plaintiff, Japan Teachers’ Union, filed a suit against President of Prince Hotels Inc., and his firm to the Tokyo District Court to compensate damages which amounted approximately 300 million Yen. Due to unilateral cancellation of the signed contract, the union could not hold the meeting, the National Conference on Education Research slated for February 2008. The court ordered the hotel chain to pay the claimed sum in damages and publish an apology in the major newspapers. Presiding Judge Kono Kiyotaka criticized the hotelier’s side for failing to respect the judiciary: the hotel, defying the temporary court orders to let the union use the conference rooms, insisted its rejection. The intransigence violates laws and constitutes negligence of debt payment. The court ordered twelve executive board members of the hotels group to indemnify the damages incurred by the union as the judicial authority regarded that President of the firm had intentionally neglected duties. Because the Prince Hotels Inc., has held press meetings and claimed on the web site to justify the hotelier’s decision, criticizing the teachers’ union. The District Court supported the union’s arguments of defamation. Hotel Rejected Temporary Court Orders Too The incident took place at Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa, located in Minato-ku, Tokyo. In March 2007, the two parties signed a reservation contract of conference rooms and guest rooms for participants, but in November the hotel side unilaterally announced cancellation of the contract on the ground that rightwing groups would wage loud-speaker campaigns against the teachers’ union, which might disturb nearby residents and student guests who would take entrance tests of higher schools. The court had issued temporary orders three times to the hotel to let the union use the halls, but the firm refused to comply. Consequently, the teachers’ union was obliged to give up the annual meeting for the first time since the first one was held in 1953. The teachers’ union appreciates the court ruling, explaining that it advocates importance of teachers’ research meeting and guarantees freedom of assembly and adding that the court was right as it denounced the hotel’s negligence of the judicial advice of constitutional state. Commercial Contract was Arbitrarily Voided In total 2000 teachers were to participate in the 2008 meeting. Only a big hall can accommodate this number of people. The teachers’ union took a due process of hotel reservation, and it took the hotel management two months to accept it after examining the application. Meantime, the union asked the Tokyo Metropolitan Police authority to take security measures to avert right-wing demonstrators and later it obtained consent. Abruptly, however, the hotel unilaterally forced the union to null the contract with an explanation that disturbances, damages and nuisances may be exerted not only to neighbors and hotel guests but also others if the union uses the facility. It was only two months before the planned meeting when the contract was voided, and, as a result, the union could not find alternative venue. The union suspended the convention. Rightists Were Successful The hotel chain is an industry giant, belonging to the Seibu Group: it has 62 hotels across the country, earning 200 billion Yen a year. A prestigious firm cannot easily rescind an agreement and defy the court orders. If a first-class hotel abandons social responsibility as a business entity, its accountability is undermined. Apparently the hotel was intimidated by a threat of violence of right wing groups to disrupt the venue, which actually helped them to attain the goal. This fact shows the Group’s philosophy, ‘social justice’, is put aside.