Japan's Supreme Court endorses exclusion
of pro-North Korea schools
Pro-North Korean schools in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, lost a case at Japan's Supreme Court, according to Japanese press reports on Friday. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Japan's Supreme Court ruled a Japanese government decision to exclude pro-Pyongyang Korean schools from state benefits is not illegal following multiple lawsuits filed by the schools.
The court said Thursday schools in Japan's Aichi Prefecture affiliated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, the pro-North Korean organization known as Chongryon, are not eligible for subsidies, including coronavirus relief, because of the Kim family worship required among students at the schools, Kyodo News reported Friday.
The idolization of the ruling Kims at the school is "unjust," the court said.
Japanese policy toward pro-Pyongyang schools, affiliated with a group that channels financial support to North Korea, has changed with administrations.
In 2010, when the now-dissolved Democratic Party of Japan was in power, Tokyo included pro-Pyongyang schools in benefits including tuition-free education. When the conservative Liberal Democratic Party of Japan returned to power, the schools were left out from benefits, starting in 2013, according to South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh.
The North Korean schools have filed lawsuits in other districts, including Tokyo and Osaka, but lost their fight in courts. The schools have claimed they are the targets of societal discrimination.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has raised concerns about lack of state subsidies for the schools.
Pro-North Korean schools in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, lost a case at Japan's Supreme Court, according to Japanese press reports on Friday. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Japan's Supreme Court ruled a Japanese government decision to exclude pro-Pyongyang Korean schools from state benefits is not illegal following multiple lawsuits filed by the schools.
The court said Thursday schools in Japan's Aichi Prefecture affiliated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, the pro-North Korean organization known as Chongryon, are not eligible for subsidies, including coronavirus relief, because of the Kim family worship required among students at the schools, Kyodo News reported Friday.
The idolization of the ruling Kims at the school is "unjust," the court said.
Japanese policy toward pro-Pyongyang schools, affiliated with a group that channels financial support to North Korea, has changed with administrations.
In 2010, when the now-dissolved Democratic Party of Japan was in power, Tokyo included pro-Pyongyang schools in benefits including tuition-free education. When the conservative Liberal Democratic Party of Japan returned to power, the schools were left out from benefits, starting in 2013, according to South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh.
The North Korean schools have filed lawsuits in other districts, including Tokyo and Osaka, but lost their fight in courts. The schools have claimed they are the targets of societal discrimination.
Chongryon has operated for decades in Japan, running schools and banking systems. According to analyst Markus Bell, the group acts as a tax collector for ethnic Koreans in Japan who support North Korea. The organization sends billions of Japanese yen to Pyongyang, where the government may have not suspended the development of weapons of mass destruction.
In August, the Japanese government excluded pro-North Korean schools from receiving coronavirus relief, Tokyo Shimbun reported. The move came after Tokyo decided to exclude the schools from benefits such as free early childhood education.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has raised concerns about lack of state subsidies for the schools.
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