Rights groups rally in Tokyo against Japan’s exclusion of Korean schools from child protection law
Makiko Kishi, left, a lawmaker of Japan’s Constitutional Democratic Party, and members of the International Network in Solidarity with Korean Schools submit a petition to the Japanese government during a rally in Tokyo urging the inclusion of Korean schools under the Basic Act on Children, Thursday. Photo by Ryu Ho
Civic rights groups and activists from Korea, Japan and other parts of the world rallied in Tokyo, Thursday, urging the Japanese government to include Korean schools under the Basic Act on Children and make them eligible for free high school tuition support.
They argued that Japan continues to enforce discriminatory policies despite corrective recommendations from the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The rally was organized by the International Network in Solidarity with Korean Schools, a coalition of civic groups from Korea, Japan, Europe and Australia, and held at the House of Councillors Members’ Office Building. A global petition signed by more than 45,000 people was submitted to Japan’s education ministry and Children and Families Agency, urging the government to include Korean schools under the Basic Act on Children.
“For the sake of Japanese society and its children, discrimination in Japan must end,” an activist from the National Network for Supporting Korean Schools told the crowd.
In 2023, Japan enacted the Basic Act on Children, which sets out the protection of children’s fundamental human rights and freedom from discriminatory treatment as basic principles. But Korean schools have been excluded from the law.
"Excluding Korean school students from legal protection violates international standards as Japan is a party to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and contradicts the very purpose of the Basic Act on Children," said Ha Sang-gyun, head of the Citizens’ Group in Solidarity with Korean Schools.
Activists speak during a press conference calling for Korean schools to be included under Japan’s Basic Act on Children in Tokyo, Thursday. Photo by Ryu-ho
Long-standing discriminatory policies
The case adds to a long list of policies that critics say reflect the Japanese government’s discriminatory treatment of Korean schools in Japan. In 2010, the Democratic Party-led government cited concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program and its abductions of Japanese nationals as it excluded Korean schools from eligibility for free high school tuition support.
Korean schools were also excluded from recovery aid after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and left out of free early childhood education and care programs in 2019. Activists say the same pattern continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Korean schools were omitted from various assistance and relief packages.
The repeated exclusion of Korean schools from public support programs, despite corrective recommendations from the U.N., has fueled criticism within Japan that the policy amounts to structural discrimination targeting a specific minority group.
“No matter the reason, children should never be made to bear political responsibility for events of the past,” said Yoo Jae-hyun, an activist with the Choson School Sponsorship Association in Germany. “They should be protected, not forced to shoulder responsibility.”
Other participants said the latest exclusionary measure was part of a broader climate of xenophobia as right-wing movements gain influence. Makiko Kishi, a lawmaker from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan who joined the rally, called the situation regrettable, saying children should be protected. She criticized the current Cabinet as increasingly taking an anti-foreign stance.
Kim Mi-ra, secretary of the U.S.-based rights group Koreans for Woori Schools, said denying support to children amounted to “an act against humanity” and “a blatant violation of human rights.”
“Above all, this is not something adults should do,” she said.
Background check: 'Chosun schools' and Chongryon
Many Korean schools in Japan — often called Chosun schools — have historical and institutional ties to North Korea through their affiliation with Chongryon, a pro–North Korean organization that has long supported these schools financially, culturally and administratively. As a result, the schools typically use curricula influenced by North Korean educational standards, teach the Korean language using North Korean conventions, and include lessons that reflect North Korean history and perspectives.
These ties were especially strong during the Cold War, when funding, textbooks and even visits from North Korea were more common, though such connections have become more limited over time due to political tensions and international sanctions. But they are still largely viewed within and outside Japan as strongly influenced by North Korea.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.