COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sub-Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights
Fifty-fifth session
Item 5 (c) of the provisional agenda
PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION:
PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES
Written statement* submitted by the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR),
a non-governmental organization on the Roster
The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
[3 July 2003]
Ethnic Discrimination in Education in Japan
The situation of education for ethnic minorities in Japan, especially the Korean minority, has long been a matter of serious concern, and has been raised as such before various UN human rights bodies, including the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, its Working Group on Minorities, as well as a number of treaty bodies. Despite the recommendations adopted by the UN experts to the Government of Japan, the Government has taken a step in the opposite direction towards a further and more overt discriminatory policy for certain ethnic minorities in the country.
On March 28, 2003, the Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (Education Ministry) announced it would reconsider its "policy", which was once decided on March 6, of recognizing the diplomas of 16 "international" high schools. But this did not include those awarded by Korean, Chinese and other ethnic schools. The Ministry's refusal until now to recognize diplomas issued by ethnic schools has arbitrarily deprived their graduates of the right to apply directly for admission to national universities. Its decision to rethink that policy would be a step in the right direction. These days, half the public and private colleges and universities throughout Japan have independently granted automatic qualification to graduates of foreign schools to take their entrance examinations. In contrast, national universities continue to refuse to do so. In the public comments solicited by the Ministry, an overwhelming majority of people (12,779 out of 13,343) stated that graduates of "ethnic schools should also be allowed to take entrance exams for national universities." These conscientious voices compelled the Ministry to rethink its policy.
However, on March 31, the Ministry announced that it would apply its earlier school-certification criterion to school donations, allowing tax deductions only for contributions to international schools recognized by Western accrediting bodies. This decision discriminates against ethnic schools attended by North and South Koreans, Chinese, and Brazilians, which generally are not eligible for public funding and depend almost entirely on private grants. The Ministry declared these schools ineligible for such tax breaks, effectively discouraging private donations. In other words, the Education Ministry turned around and used the very school-certification criterion it had suspended three days earlier to place ethnic high schools at a further disadvantage vis-a-vis their international counterparts. The Ministry in effect has reinstated its blatantly discriminatory "policy" of March 6.
Under these circumstances, concerned NGOs and individuals including IMADR formed a coalition to call for the Ministry to treat all non-Japanese high schools equally, accord tax incentives to donors to such institutions without special distinctions, and strive to foster the emergence of a multiethnic, multicultural society. They also criticize the Ministry's stance on ethnic schools in particular, and decided to mobilize teachers at national and private universities as well as concerned people inside and outside the country to oppose the government's arbitrary and discriminatory policies. As of July 1, the Education Ministry's final determination on the academic status of ethnic high schools is still pending.
Since September 17, 2002, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro in Pyongyang and apologized for the abduction of 13 Japanese nationals, Japanese public opinion has been whipped into a xenophobic frenzy. The furor over the kidnappings has eclipsed the issue of atoning for Japan's wartime depredations in Korea and elsewhere and frustrated the desire of many in Japan to see Japan play an active leadership role for peace in Asia. The ethnic school problem is one manifestation of the anti-foreign backlash that is sweeping the country. However, whether or not a diploma from a school is recognized as qualification for admission to national universities has considerable implication for the future of children. IMADR considers that such an issue should not be influenced by the diplomatic relations or the political situation between two countries at any given time.
Furthermore, the policy reflected in the Ministry’s decision in this instance clearly violates international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to both of which Japan is a party. In the past concern was expressed by a number of treaty bodies including the Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Rights of the Child about the fact that children attending Korean and other ethnic schools receive unequal treatment in respect of access to higher education in the Japanese education system*
. The Committees strongly recommended that the Japanese government take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination toward children attending ethnic schools, including by recognizing all graduates from those schools as automatically qualified to take the national university entrance examinations. Mostly recently, in August 2001, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights likewise adopted a similar view and recommended that:
“the State party (Japan) officially recognize minority schools, in particular Korean schools, when they comply with the national education curriculum, and consequently make available to them subsidies and other financial assistance, and also recognize their school leaving certificates as university entrance examination qualifications.”(Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Japan 24/09/2001 E/C.12/1/Add.67)
The Ministry’s action to continue to differentiate its treatment of English-speaking international schools and other ethnic schools can only be considered as racial discrimination, which is contrary not only to the recommendations of the respective Committees, but also to the realization of the Government's policy of “internationalization of education”, which is said to form the backdrop of the recent decision. It also goes against the Ministry's Fundamental Plan on Human Rights Education (March 2002), a policy of “striving for the enrichment of education so that we may grow respect for other cultures and encourage an attitude of living and working together with people from other traditions and cultures.”
IMADR strongly wishes to draw the attention of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on the issue to eliminate racial discrimination and arbitrariness in the provision of educational opportunities of ethnic minorities in any countries, in view of the realization of the enrichment and internationalization of education.
______________
*This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s).
** Para 13, 32, 40, and 60,the Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Japan (E/C.12/1/Add.67 24/09/2001)
Para 16, the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/58/CRP 27/04/2001)
Para 13, the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/Add.90 05/06/1998)
Para 13, the Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/79/Add.102 19/11/1998)
