We Won’t Accept the Unjust Ruling by the Tokyo District Court 〜 Defending the Right to Learn for Children In Japan’s Korean Schools

 

At 6:30pm on October 25^th, a nationwide rally to “defend the right to learn for children in Japan’s Korean schools” was held at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. As rally-goers holding umbrellas surrounded the outdoor stage in the pouring rain, a student at Korea University opened the rally with a song titled “Voices Gather and Become Song.” No matter how many times one listens to it, the lyrics are deeply moving: “How much more do I have to shout? There’s a voice that’s been taken away again and again.” “Given that the exclusion of Korean Schools from government subsidies undermines the main goal of the policy, politicizes education, infringes upon the rights and interests of students—as shown by the attorney team’s clear and persuasive argument and the government’s incoherent responses during witness testimony—we were 100% certain that we would win the case,” SHIN Gil-ung, head of the Korean School Principals Association, said in his introductory remarks. “But the Court coldly dismissed the plaintiffs’ demands.” For the students who had been awaiting the victory outside the Tokyo District Court on September 13^th, the decision they received instead was an unjust one—how frustrating and angering that must have felt. (OZAWA Kuniko)

東京地裁の不当判決に負けない！〜朝鮮学校の子どもたちに学ぶ権利を！全国集会

10月25日午後6時半、東京の代々木公園において「朝鮮学校の子どもたちに学ぶ権利を！全国集会」が行われた。降りしきる雨の中、野外ステージで傘をさしながら集会は始まった。オープニングは朝鮮大学生の「声よ集まれ、歌となれ」の歌。「どれだけ叫べばいいのだろう　奪われ続けた声がある」の歌は、いつ聞いても胸に迫るものがある。主催者あいさつで全国朝鮮高級学校校長会会長の慎吉雄さんは「朝鮮学校の排除は無償化法の趣旨を逸脱し、教育に政治を持ち込み、生徒たちの権利と利益を著しく侵害した違法なものであるとの単純明快で説得力のある弁護団の主張と、証人尋問での政府側のしどろもどろの答弁を目の当たりにし、裁判の勝利を100％確信していた。しかし裁判長は原告の訴えを冷たく退けた」と話した。9月13日、東京地裁の前で勝訴を待ちわびていた生徒たちに届いたのは「不当判決」。どれほど悔しく、腹立たしかったろう。（尾澤邦子） 報告