after shinzo abe was elected prime minister in 2012, his government decided that "chongryon" schools’ freedom of operation had to be curtailed by cancelling subsidies that improved affordability for the pro-"chongryon" ethnic koreans. in 2017, the district court of osaka ruled that the attempted cuts to school subsidies by the abe government should de retracted. one year later, the japanese high court upheld the government's decision to restrict educational subsidies for students attending "chongryon" schools.