Revolutionary verdict on ‘exclusion of Korean schools,’ ‘missile launch’

 

 The Osaka District Court on July 28 ruled that the government’s decision to exclude Korean schools from free tuition act is illegal. The same night, North Korea launched a ballistic missile, which dominated news reports the next day. How are we to understand the two events that happened on the same day? The Osaka court said in its ruling, “Education Minister SHIMOMURA Hakubun is seen to delete the provision out of the “free high school tuition” act in order to exclude Korean schools based on diplomatic and political views that granting Korean schools free tuition would not be accepted by the Japanese citizens as it would interfere with attempts to resolve North Korean abductee issues, which is unrelated to equality in education at a high-school level. Therefore, the court interprets deleting the provision as illegal and invalid.” 

 <Word of an Ant> 

＜アリの一言＞「朝鮮学校排除」に対する画期的判決と「ミサイル発射」

 

朝鮮学校を高校無償化法の対象から排除している国（安倍政権）の措置は違法であるとする画期的な判決が7月28日、大阪地裁でありましたが、その半日後の同日深夜、北朝鮮が「弾道ミサイル」を発射し、メディアは「ミサイル」一色になりました。くしくも同じ日に起こったこの２つの出来事に、私たちはどう向き合うべきでしょうか。大阪地裁判決（西田隆裕裁判長）は、こう断じました（判決要旨より）。「下村博文文科相は、後期中等教育段階の教育の機会均等とは無関係な、朝鮮学校に無償化を適用することは北朝鮮との間の拉致問題の解決の妨げになり、国民の理解が得られないという外交的・政治的意見に基づき、朝鮮高級学校を無償化の対象から排除するため、高校無償化法施行規則の規定を削除したものと認められる。従って、規定の削除は…違法・無効と解すべきである」（アリの一言）

National rally to defend the right to study in Korean schools -- Fight on for free tuition!

On February 21th, a national rally to demand the right to learn at Korean Schools was held at the Tokyo Korean Junior  & Senior High School as part of the joint action to support the Korean High School Case. 1200 participants watched a video message made by Korean High School students and enjoyed a drama “Chogori” performed by Korean students studying in Japan. The organizer of the meeting, HASEGAWA Kazuo explained the significance of the meeting. “March 20^th, 2013 is a humiliating day when Korean schools were excluded from the free tuition system. The Japanese government have tried to wipe out ethnic education for Koreans many times, but we have fought hard to defend ethnic schools. Presently, we are fighting nationwide against the discrimination on Korean schools and to support the lawsuits to stop the cut of subsidy to Korean schools from the local governments. Today, we have students from Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka here in this meeting. Students from Aichi were also there at the rally in front of the Ministry of Education and Culture yesterday. High schools students in five districts have stood up and are suing the governments for their rights. Let’s fight to the end!”

(OZAWA Kuniko)

「朝鮮学校で学ぶ権利を！」全国集会開かれる～無償化の実現めざして
 

 2月21日（土）、東京朝鮮中高級学校・講堂において、朝鮮高校生裁判支援全国統一行動「朝鮮学校で学ぶ権利を！」全国集会が行われました。集会には約 1200人が参加し、朝鮮高校生が作成したビデオメッセージや、在日本朝鮮留学生同盟による演劇「チョゴリ」を見ました。主催者あいさつで長谷川和男代表 は「2013年2月20日は、朝鮮学校を無償化から排除した屈辱的な日。日本政府が民族教育の灯を何度も消そうとする中で、民族学校を守り、闘ってきたその思いを消させたくない。朝鮮学校差別反対運動の更なる高揚と裁判勝利のため、全国各地で闘っている。今日ここには大阪、広島、福岡からも参加している。 昨日の文部科学省に対する行動には愛知からも来ていた。5つの地域で裁判闘争に立ち上がった高校生たちは、国を相手取って自分たちの権利を主張している。 勝利の日まで闘おう」と話しました。（尾澤邦子） 

Lawsuit over exclusion of Korean schools from Tuition-Free High School Education System: 340 cue to enter court gallery in Tokyo

The third hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court on Oct. 1 for the lawsuit where high school students of Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School are claiming state compensation for the damages caused by the exclusion of their school from the national system of free high school education. Before the start of the hearing at 10 am, some 340 people including teachers and students of the school, parents of the students, and supporters lined up outside the courthouse in rain to get tickets to enter the courtroom. For the first time for the case, the hearing was held in the largest room in the courthouse. Korean high schools are not provided government financial assistance applied to other foreign and international high schools from the High School Tuition Support Fund. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern on this situation in the concluding observations document of the periodic review for Japan conducted in Geneva, Switzerland  late in August, by stating that the legislative provisions and government's actions in Japan including the exclusion from the High School Tuition Support Fund and the suspension or continued decrease of funding allocated by local governments to Korean schools hinder the right to education of children of Korean origin and recommended the Japanese government to revise its position.  The long cue outside the courthouse could have reflected a widespread interest in this issue in the society. (By NISHIHANA Seiichiro)      

傍聴券もとめて340人～関心広がる東京朝鮮学校「高校無償化」裁判

１０月１日、東京地裁１０３大法廷で、東京朝鮮中高 級学 校に在籍する高校生への就学支援金不支給を巡る国家賠償請求訴訟の第三回口頭弁論が開かれた。 午前１０時前小雨の裁判所前には、今回初めて大法廷で行われる公判の傍聴券を求めて、同校の教員や生徒、保護者、支援者ら約３４０人が列 を作った。８月下旬にジュネーブで開催された国連•人種差別撤廃委員会の日本審 査で、朝鮮学校の「高校授業料就学支援金」制度からの除外や、その影響による各地方自治体の朝鮮学校への補助金の凍結や継続的な縮減に対 して、教育権を妨げる差別的な行政措置として懸念表明され、是正勧告が出された こともあり、裁判への関心の広がりが感じられた。（西中誠一郎）