EDITORIAL: Subsidies for Korean schools

Students of Chosen Kokyu Gakko, pro-Pyongyang senior high schools for Korean teenagers in Japan, must have started the autumn term feeling "abandoned."

A panel of experts at the education ministry has come up with criteria to determine whether the Korean schools should be included in the government's subsidy program for senior high schools.

When the program started in April, the government put off its decision on Korean schools, saying it could not confirm if the curricula at the Korean schools were comparable with those of Japanese senior high schools.

The panel's report recommends that the Korean schools be required to have class hours and faculty sizes similar to those of vocational schools, and follow "transparent" accounting procedures to ensure the government subsidies are used entirely to reduce tuition fees.

The panel also called for a system that would enable the education ministry to check regularly on Korean schools and other foreign schools in the country.

At the same time, the panel advises the ministry against making any decision on the basis of what is taught at each school. The thinking behind this is that foreign schools should be allowed to follow educational policies different from Japanese schools.

Although the panel took far too long to put its criteria together, it has offered fair and objective standards that can be used to accurately position foreign schools in relation to the Japanese educational system to ensure government support for cultural diversity in education.

In accordance with the criteria, the education ministry should hasten to include the Korean schools in the tuition-free program retroactively.

But the ministry is again deferring its decision, saying it has been instructed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan to listen to opinions within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

Some DPJ members insist that since economic sanctions against North Korea are in place, the government should not financially support schools under Pyongyang's influence. And families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea oppose any form of support which, they argue, will most likely be seen by Pyongyang as a sign that Tokyo has begun to relent.

We presume the ministry postponed its decision in consideration of these opinions.

But supporting Korean students in Japan and dealing with the abduction issue are completely separate subjects. The beneficiaries of the tuition-free program are students, not schools. And as made clear in the Diet, the government's official position is that the decision "must not be affected by diplomatic considerations."

Some people have strong issues with the nature of education at the North Korean schools. True, the glorification of the Kim Jong Il regime is quite at odds with Japan's system of democracy.

But we should look at Korean school students in our neighborhoods. Some schools are regional powerhouses in sports. The teens learn Pyongyang's political philosophy in classes, but individual students and their parents obviously have their own opinions.

Many graduates, with their bilingual skills, have become successful in various fields.

It is time for Japanese society to be broad-minded. There are historical reasons why many ethnic Korean citizens are living here and support the Pyongyang government. We must respect their love of their country and guarantee their right to study as fellow members of our society. Only then will we be able to speak more freely with Korean people who don't trust Pyongyang and reach a broader mutual understanding.

Beyond that, it should be entirely up to them to decide what sort of education they want as Korean citizens living in Japan and whether they are satisfied with the Korean schools.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 5