Korean People in Japan

Exclusion of Korean High School from the Tuition-free Plan for High Schools in Japan

by Erii Iikura

On August 30, 2009, the Liberal-Democratic Party lost the election in the House of Representatives and the Democratic Party of Japan has taken power.  This new government, led by Hatoyama Yukio, declared in their manifest a plan for high schools to become tuition-free. This policy was started this April, but at this time [early July, 2010 -ed.], Korean school, which is categorized as "school in the miscellaneous category," was excluded from it.  The government said with regard to Korean high school, an "examination committee" will make an objective standard and judge this summer.  Here, I want to discuss why Korean school was excluded from this tuition-free plan.

How many Japanese know why Korean people in Japan are now in Japan?  I think it is not so many. Korean people in Japan now can be divided into two categories: old-comers and newcomers, and I will focus on the former here.  Most of the Korean people in Japan were forced to come to Japan in the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) when Korea was Japanese colony.  Some of them came after the Second World War, when the Korean peninsula fell into great confusion before and after the Korean War. The defeat of Japan was a liberation for Korean people, but, on the other hand, it brought political and ideological disorders to Korean peninsula and many Korean emigrated from there.  Especially, many people left Cheju where a large-scale Red purge was undertaken.  The first-generation of Korean people in Japan have a special experience: they have lived in Korea and can speak Korean, but as the generations changed, the young can not speak Korean but also do not know anything about their ancestors’ country.  Their relatives who were separated from each other by the war and, the Korean peninsula being divided into North and South, they have also their ancestors’ graves there, divided.  If they cannot speak Korean, they do not communicate with their relatives.  If they do not learn about their ancestors’ history, they don’t know why they are in Japan and not Korea.  In fact, Korean people in Japan who are not interested in their country and language are increasing in recent young generations.  Some use a Japanese name, and some use a Korean name or both, but many of them become a naturalized Japanese citizen and change their names when they hunt for a job.  Some of them conceal their Korean name and the fact they are Korean, especially when they are child.  There are not many Korean children who are distressed why they are Korean and why they were not born as Japanese.  Many of my Korean friends told me this kind of story.  They had trouble with their identity in their adolescence.  They say, "I wanted to be a perfect Japanese, but I couldn’t.  I didn’t know why.  But when I started to be conscious of that, I felt like I have released."  I am not usually strongly conscious that I am Japanese, but I knew for Korean people in Japan, recognizing they are Korean is to accept their own existence or the justice of their existence.  The problem here is why some Korean people in Japan want to conceal their Korean name and the fact they are Korean in Japanese society.  It is true that there is still much deep-rooted discrimination against foreigners in Japanese society generally, but what is particular to Korean people in Japan is that they were not necessarily born in Japan as  Korean by their will. On the contrary, they feel difficulty in living in Japan as  Korean.  They have to choose which is better for them to live in Japan, "becoming Korean" or "becoming Japanese."  But they cannot become "perfect Korean" nor "perfect Japanese" although they become naturalized Japanese. 

Being proud of themselves as Korean, some Korean people in Japan go to Korean school.  Korean school is very the place they can cultivate their identity as Korean.  The nationality of the Korean school students is various, most of them have "Korean nationality (virtual stateless according to Japanese law)," some are South Korean (ROK) nationality and there are also students who have Japanese nationality.  "Korean nationality" does not necessarily mean North Korean (DPRK) nationality.  In 1947 a "foreigner registration order" was enforced by the last decree of Japanese emperor, and all Korean people in Japan were forced to become "foreigners" although they were compelled to became "Japanese" in the colonial period.  Losing "Japanese nationality," they became stateless then.  So having ROK nationality means having chosen ROK nationality by their will whether he or she stands by the ROK or not.  In 1965 when "Japan-ROK Basic Relations Treaty" was concluded, only Koreans who chose ROK nationality were allowed the right of permanent residence in Japan.  Koreans who had not chosen ROK nationality did not have the right of permanent residence until 1990.  Not having ROK nationality means statelessness; no one can get DPRK nationality in Japan because Japan does not have diplomatic relations with the DPRK. Some of the Koreans who do not have ROK nationality sympathizes with the DPRK but not with the ROK, but most of them maintain "Korean nationality" because they will not choose ROK nor DPRK.  It is their wish for the unification of the two separated nations and to leave the colonial history of Korean by leaving their "stateless nationality."  A professor at Korean university in Japan said to us, 

"transferring to ROK nationality hides the history of colonialism.  Having dispersed family in North and South and proper right is not given in Japan, Korean people in Japan are still under a situation that colonialism are continuing.  Colonialism hasn’t finished yet for us and is the serious problem of the present progressive form."  

Most of us Japanese people do not know why Korean people are in Japan, what kind of troubles they face and what Korean school is for them.  We are not only ignorant but also indifferent to them.  We misunderstand them and sometimes have a hand in some kind of violence or force against them. 

Getting back to the problem of exclusion of Korean schools from the tuition-free plan for high schools in Japan, let us think about why Korean school has been excluded from this policy.  On April 30th, the notice was announced which decided the target of this plan classified as "miscellaneous schools" excepting Korean school.  According to the law of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology , "miscellaneous school" is described like this:

"2. It is a miscellaneous school…one that is constituted of foreigners residing in our country.

(i) It is one located in the public education system in a country concerned to have the course equal with the course of the school in the foreign country corresponding to the high school, and what the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specified.

(ro) It is one that the recognition of the group that the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specifies of another and the educational activity was received, and what the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specified though it connects to [i].

(ha) One to put the course that belongs at the course of the high school and what according to the place where another and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology provide the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specified assuming that admitted though it hangs to [i] and [ro]. "

A school that corresponds to (i) is the Chinese school and, in this case, there had to be diplomatic relations with the Japanese government.  So in case of Taiwanese school, it is not included in this category because Japanese government does not consider Taiwan a nation and does not have diplomatic relations with it.  Taiwanese school and International school fill the requirements of (ro), which has the provision "group that the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specifies," the group of the former is "Taiwanese representative office" and one of the latter is "International Baccalaureate."  When we think of Korean schools, Korean school does not apply to either (i) or (ro).  Korean school has been supported by North Korea since 1957.  On the other hand, South Korea was not positive in support of Koreans in Japan.  Except the Korean school that is supported by North Korea, there are four Korean schools that students who have South Korean nationality can go to now.  But most of these schools are for new-comers, and three of four schools’ curriculum are based on Article one of "The School Education Law in Japan" and they are not "miscellaneous school" but "Article One School" which is a target of the tuition-free plan.  One school is not an "Article One school," but it has become the target of April 30th’s notice, based on the above-stated law (i).  Japan has diplomatic relations with South Korea but not with North Korea.  This is the same as the Taiwanese school, Korea school that has relations with North Korea does not apply to point (i) above.  And as Taiwanese school is connected with the "Taiwanese representative office," there is also the "Confederation of Koreans Living in Japan" which issues visas to North Korea and connects Korean school and the home government.  But Japanese government does not admit it based on the requirements of (ro).  To be a target of the tuition-free plan, Korean school has to be authorized as "the one to put course that belongs at course of high school" which are in (ha).  It is said that these standards are still under deliberation at the "examination committee."  But I think it is difficult for Korean high schools to be admitted as the school that meets the requirements the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology wants. The reason why I think so is very much what I want to say here.  I will give some reasons for it, but before that there is the obvious fact that the Hatoyama government to a certain extent has collapsed because of a failure of the Futenma problem, and the Kan government, with a party leadership that is unlikely to be supportive to Korean school free-of-fee, has started.  But excluding this for now, I want to emphasize Japanese society’s problem as a reason why Korean high school free-of-fee is difficult to be achieved in Japan.

As mentioned above, there are no diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea, and the Japanese government has not admitted Confederation of Koreans Living in Japan as a "group that the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specifies."  Hatoyama, before he was the Prime Minister, once said, "we wanted to think about how to deal with Korean school tuition under the situation there are no diplomatic relations and we can’t see the curriculum clearly."  Not having diplomatic relations is not the reason Korean school was excluded.  Then, as Hatoyama said, is it the only problem that the curriculum is unclear to see?  When we try to search on the Internet, we can easily see there are many websites of Korean schools where the educational purpose and school curriculum are indicated.  Many Korean schools also open a class to the public a few times in a year. So it is clear to see the school curriculum. Then, what is the problem about Korean school?  I think it is caused by Japanese society’s lack of understanding, and misunderstanding to Korean people in Japan.  We also have a despising, adversarial emotion, and fear and distrust for North Korea, and tend to associate Korean people in Japan and Korean schools with that kind of negative image.  It is a big problem for Japanese society that such bias and discrimination still exist.

Some people say, "it is OK for Korean people in Japan to go to Korean school, but it is unreasonable for Japanese government to give money to Korean school that has the backing of North Korea and is supported by it."  To tell the truth, this is an ordinary opinion of Japanese.  Why do many Japanese think so?  One reason is as stated above; because of our lack of understanding and misunderstanding to Korean people in Japan and Korean school.  Another is excessively negative image of North Korea that is formed by information through mass media.  Since the 2000’s, when the kidnapping problem by North Korea was clarified, North Korean-bashing has been overheated.  The news of the nuclear problem of North Korea and the recent patrol plane trouble also aroused people’s suspicion.  According to the Asahi newspaper article of February 20th, 2010, it turned out that the Nakai Hiroshi kidnapping problem charge requested Kawashima Tatsuo, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, to rule out Korean high school from a target of the tuition-free plan.  Why does a Korean school, which has nothing to do with kidnapping problem, have to be excluded from the target?  I am worried, too, that those who demand the Japanese government should not accept Korean school as tuition-free will become louder due to this patrol plane trouble.

We should not be too optimistic about the exclusion problem of Korean high schools from the tuition-free plan, but I can show one possible hope.  In March of this year, this problem was taken up by the Committee on the Rights of the Child ("CRC") and the "Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination" of the UN.  Many foreign committee members showed a strong concern for it.  In the "Summary Opinion by Committee to the Third Convention on the Rights of the Japanese Child Government report," a prohibition of discrimination, rights of education and special protection measures for children who belong to minority or indigenous people' groups are stated.  The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also mentioned "anxiety and report," and mentioned the

"[a]pproaches of some politicians who are proposing that the exclusion of Korean school from bill of making tuition free in various educational institutions in the country like public and private high school, Technical Colleges, and high school courses belongs in discussion."

I do not know whether it is too optimistic or not, but thinking that International law is superior to Domestic law, Korean high school free-of-fee may be done by International law sooner or later.  However, it is not a radical solution for this.  The problem is the fact Korean high school was excluded from the policy of the tuition-free plan and the situation of Japanese society, that the people allow the government to discriminate against Korean people in Japan.  And more seriously, most of the people in Japan do not consider this kind of prejudice as "discrimination."  They consider it as recognizing "legitimate differences" or "inevitable distinction."  We have to think why that discrimination is still remaining in our society.  I think it is a Japanese society’s big problem and shows us colonization where assimilation and exclusion coexist has been still continuing yet.