The Japanese government is likely to exclude pro-North Korean high schools for Korean residents in Japan from a proposed tuition waiver program.

The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun said Friday that the Hatoyama administration has made the decision as the issue of Japanese abductees in the North remains unsettled.

The fact that questions remain as to whether the pro-Pyongyang schools' curricula is in line with that of Japan’s other schools is also believed to have led to Tokyo’s decision.

Earlier on Thursday, Hatoyama told reporters that the key issue is setting objective criteria that can be used to assess the Korean schools’ curricula --- a process which he said would take time.

However, Hatoyama hinted that the Korean schools may not expected to be permanently excluded from the tuition waiver program.