Excerpt, Tentative translation
Privileges for Koreans Living in Japan (15/15)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
October 14, 2025 edition
As of that date, there are no pages in languages other than Japanese and Korean.
【Tax Reductions and Low-Cost/Free Rentals for Chongryon-Related Facilities】
［Relief of Property Taxes for Chongryon-Related Facilities]
Lawsuits have been filed across the country challenging the illegality of tax reductions and exemptions granted by local governments to Chongryon-related facilities.[98] Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that "Chongryon-related facilities have no public benefit and are therefore illegal," and in fiscal year 2015, for the first time, tax reductions and exemptions were abolished in all municipalities with Chongryon-related facilities, resulting in regular taxation (the Chongryon-Related Facilities Local Tax Reduction and Exemption Issue).
Similar lawsuits have also been filed against some facilities related to the Korean Residents Union in Japan, with the ruling stating that "Mindan facilities have no public benefit and that tax exemptions are illegal."
[Low-Cost/Free Leasing of Land for Korean Schools]
Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, leased 7,850 square meters of city-owned land to the Hyogo Korean School Corporation for the Amagasaki Korean Elementary and Junior High School for approximately ¥280,000 per year (approximately 1/100 of the city's standard rent of approximately ¥29 million). In 1966, when the Hyogo Korean School took over the operation of a branch of an Amagasaki municipal elementary school attended by Korean residents in Japan, the city agreed to lease the land to the school for ¥10 per tsubo per month, a rate that continued for over 40 years. In 2011, the city was criticized for its incommensurability with other city-owned land rents, and renewed the contract, leasing the land for approximately ¥2.6 million per year until 2025.[99]
A city official stated that the lease "may have been viewed as a kind of subsidy (for Korean residents in Japan)," but the reasons for this are unclear. A representative of the Hyogo Rescue Association criticized the move, saying, "Continuing to rent out the land at such a low rent for no reason can only be called 'preferential treatment.'"[8]
Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture, has been found to have rented approximately 4,150 square meters of city-owned land to Hyogo Korean School for approximately 40,000 yen per month, about one-twentieth of the market price, for the site of Itami Korean Elementary School.[100]
In addition, when Itami Korean Elementary School was founded, it provided a wooden, single-story school building of approximately 400 square meters, as well as desks and other equipment, free of charge.[100] According to the standard rent for city-owned land, this works out to 745,600 yen per month.[100]
In 2011, it was discovered that Osaka City had been leasing 4,957 square meters of city-owned land to the Osaka Korean School Corporation, which operates the Nakaosaka Korean Elementary School, free of charge for approximately 50 years since 1961. The City’s Contract Management Bureau responded, “Due to historical reasons, the land has been leased free of charge. We are currently in negotiations to charge a fee or purchase the land.”[101]
In 2013, Osaka City filed a lawsuit in the Osaka District Court, demanding the removal of all structures on the school grounds, the return of the land, and the payment of 1,244,000 yen per month from April 1, 2014 until the school was vacated.[102] On February 28, 2017, the school agreed to purchase the city-owned land for 342 million yen and pay approximately 20 million yen in land usage fees from January 2013 to the end of March 2017.[103]
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