A Japanese court ruled "illegal" Friday a government decision to deny high school tuition subsidies to a Korean school in Osaka, the first ruling approving the eligibility of such schools.

The Osaka District Court said it is unlawful that the government excluded Osaka Korean High School from the tuition-free high school education program because of political issues, such as North Korea's past abductions of Japanese citizens.

Presiding Judge Takahiro Nishida said the government's decision to exclude the school from the petition-free program was made based on concerns that including it "could make it harder to solve the abduction issue, thereby proving a challenge to winning public understanding." But the state decision is "illegal and should be retracted," the judge said.

The government argued in the court that excluding Korean schools from the program is legitimate because there is a risk that subsidies provided through the program may not be spent appropriately, citing their links with North Korea and the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.

The court said since Osaka Korean High School has never received administrative punishment for legal violations or other wrongdoings, the school should be entitled to the tuition benefit scheme to ensure equal opportunity in education unless circumstances are exceptional.

The decision contrasts with a July 19 ruling by the Hiroshima District Court which rejected a petition by the operator of a Korean school in Hiroshima calling for the reversal of the government decision to exclude the school from the tuition-free program.

"It's a history-making ruling under which the judiciary rescinds the government's unfair, discriminatory acts," said the educational institution running Osaka Korean High School. "We are glad that children's right to receive an ethnic education was approved and guaranteed."

In April 2010, the Japanese government introduced the high school tuition-free program as one of the key policies of the then ruling Democratic Party of Japan, the predecessor of the current Democratic Party.

Under the program, public high school students were made exempt from tuition fees while private high school students receive financial aid to make tuition effectively free.

According to the Osaka court ruling, applications to participate in the program by Korean schools were initially subject to the government's examination but the procedure was halted after North Korea fired dozens of rounds of artillery onto a South Korean island in November 2010.

The government decided in February 2013 after the Liberal Democratic Party regained power that Osaka Korean High School should be excluded from the tuition waiver program in consideration of the abductions and other reasons concerning North Korea.

Last week, the Hiroshima District Court dismissed claims by plaintiffs seeking to overturn the government's denial to offer tuition benefits to Korean schools, saying that the court does not find the state's policy as deviating from the scope of its discretion.

The Osaka court accepted Korean schools' links with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, more commonly known as Chongryon, to some extent but did not deny the adequacy of such an institution in supporting foreign residents in Japan and helping schools offer culturally-specific studies.

The Osaka court's ruling drew applause and cheers from the school uniform-clad students, their parents and supporters in the courtroom.

"When I looked at the banner (outside the court) stating our victory, the faces of the children came to my mind following their suffering," Hyon Sun Ae, a mother of four who attend the school, said tearfully. "I was worried before the ruling but now I'm so relieved."

In contrast, the Osaka court ruling sent shockwaves through the education ministry, with senior officials rushing to brief education minister Hirokazu Matsuno about it, with one calling the ruling "outrageous."

As of May 2016 there were 11 Korean high schools in Japan teaching in Korean and providing a Korean ethnic education, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Their nearly 1,400 students include those with South Korean or Japanese nationality.

Aside from Hiroshima and Osaka, three similar lawsuits have been filed in Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka, with the Tokyo District Court scheduled to issue a ruling on the matter on Sept. 13.