Excerpt, Tentative translation
Privilege for Korean Residents in Japan (1/15)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
October 14, 2025 edition
As of that date, there are no pages in languages other than Japanese and Korean.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%A8%E6%97%A5%E7%89%B9%E6%A8%A9
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.ja
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Terms_of_Use
"Privilege for Korean Residents in Japan" is a term to criticize preferential treatment and systems for "special permanent residents of Korean descent in Japan," the Korean Residents Union (Korean Residents Association) (Korean Residents Union) (Korean Residents Association), and Chongryon-affiliated organizations (North Korean Residents Association) such as the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) and the Federation of Korean Commerce and Industry in Japan. [1][2][3] However, some argue that the differences and treatment between special permanent residents and regular permanent residents are not "privileges" but "affirmative action." [4]
Overview
Foreigners with special permanent residency status in Japan are often criticized by the general public for unfair preferential treatment and special measures not available to "ordinary foreigners residing in Japan with regular permanent residency or other residence status." Examples include tax privileges related to organizations affiliated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan [3], and the fact that while ordinary Korean nationals and other foreign nationals who are convicted of criminal offenses in Japan are subject to deportation after release, special permanent residents are effectively exempt from deportation [1][2].
Other practices that were criticized as privileges included the halving of resident taxes for special permanent residents in some areas[5], the easy permission to change common names[6][7], the "Five Points of Agreement" by the Korean Federation of Commerce and Industry[3], the exemption of fixed asset taxes for Chongryon facilities (the issue of local tax reductions for Chongryon-related facilities), and the free or low-cost leasing of land for Korean schools. Some of these were corrected after being reported in the media and became social issues, or were subsequently ruled "illegal" and improved[1][8][3]. Some are of the opinion that "special permanent residence" should be abolished and integrated into "general permanent residence" like other foreigners[9].
"Affirmative Action" and Anti-Integration
On the other hand, critics of the term "Zainichi Privilege"—which criticizes the differences between ordinary foreign nationals and those who support integrating it with "general permanent residence" (those who support the abolition of "special permanent residence")—have argued that it is not a "privilege" but rather "a relief measure established in response to various historical circumstances and the poverty caused by social discrimination," "affirmative action," and "a measure by the Japanese government to provide as stable a status as possible."[10][11] Noma argued that right-wing and conservative criticism constitutes "hate" and "anti-Korean sentiment" toward Korean residents in Japan, and that the hate speech and protests of the Zaitokukai in particular constitute incitement to hatred.[12] Kyodo News expressed concern that the discourse of "Zainichi Privilege" "promotes racism."[13]
