The Tokyo District Court rejected a lawsuit Friday filed by a limited partnership company operated by and on behalf of the pro-Pyongyang group Chongryun seeking exemption from fixed asset taxes on its headquarters and two other properties in Tokyo.
The court said the headquarters of Chongryun, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, that is being seized by the same court to pay off the group's debts, is not an embassy and thus not exempt from the taxes.
Presiding Judge Makoto Jozuka said the properties in Chiyoda Ward are clearly distinct from properties used by official diplomatic delegations, regardless of Chongryun's job of processing visas for Pyongyang.