Pro-North Korean Chosen High School in Osaka will set a precedent in Japanese rugby when it plays in the national high school championship tournament due to open on Saturday.

News photoPlayers of the Chosen High School rugby team celebrate after qualifying for the national high school championship in this file photo from last month.

It will be the first ethnic high school in the country to be in the championship round since the door was opened in 1994 to so-called "miscellaneous" schools that do not fall under the definition of schools as set forth in the School Education Law.

Chosen High School's participation will take place at a time when relations between Japan and North Korea have been chilly due to the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North in the past.