THE CHANGING CONTOURS OF DISCRIMINATION IN JAPAN: THE TREATMENT OF APPLICANTS FROM NORTH KOREAN- AFFILIATED SCHOOLS IN JAPAN TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES

The Japanese authorities are often accused of systematically discriminating against the North Korean-affiliated Ch’ongryŏn schools in Japan in several respects, which include denying applicants from such schools eligibility for entry to national universities unless they pass a special eligibility test. Another example of discriminatory treatment is the difference between the financial situations of regular Japanese and Ch’ongryŏn schools. The Ch’ongryŏn schools do not receive subsidies from the national government, and can only get subsidies of variable size from the prefectures. The size of the available subsidies is vital to schools ’ finances, and affects the willingness of ethnic Korean parents or guardians to choose a Ch’ongryŏn school for their children. Ch’ongryŏn, an organisation that supports the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and which runs the schools, is not just infamous for its chronic money problems; it also has a bad reputation among the Japanese general public as well as some ethnic Koreans living in Japan.1 In July 2002, the Japanese Ministry of Education announced that the current regulations for eligibility for entry to national universities were to be abolished, thus making it easier for applicants from gaikokujingakkō, i.e. foreigners ’ schools, to ente