An Indigenous People of Japan: Recognizing Ainu in the Law
By Aaron Hoover
The Japanese government has garnered criticism for its lack of recognition of Ainu people and other minority groups within the country.[1] Although mainstream American media has painted a picture of a “homogenous” Japanese society, this is potentially an inaccurate and harmful overstatement.[2] This type of narrative erases the vibrant history and culture of the indigenous Ainu as well as other minorities such as the Burakumin, Nissei Japanese, Zainichi, and ethnocultural migrant groups from East and Southeast Asia.[3]
The Ainu are an indigenous people found largely in Japan.[4] Their communities are geographically concentrated in Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido and the Sakhalin Islands.[5] There were historical interactions between the Ainu and Yamato Japanese predating the Meiji Period, but Japanese administration of them began when the Imperial Japanese government created the Kaitakushi [administrative body for Hokkaido colonization] in 1869 to expand into Hokkaido.[6] The Japanese government then began to colonize Hokkaido while pursuing assimilationist policies to divest Ainu people of their language, culture, religion, and identity.[7]
In 2007, the United Nations established the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”) leading some Japanese politicians and Ainu special interest groups to pressure the government to pass laws addressing Ainu rights and recognition.[8] In 2019, the Diet passed an act to promote the recognition of Ainu as an indigenous people and to establish a museum that promotes Ainu culture.[9]
Act on the Promotion of Ainu Culture, and Dissemination and Enlightenment of Knowledge about Ainu Tradition (“1997 Act”)
The 1997 Act is very short and regarded as a nominal measure because it has no specific, concrete requirements or enforcement methods.[10] Section 2.2(1) directs the national government to “endeavor to promote measures to ensure the promotion, etc. of Ainu Culture.” However, there are no provisions that provide details on implementation, and there are no penalties for governmental failure to comply.[11] Section 4, however, requires the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (“MEXT”) to create a policy for promoting § 2, and § 5 similarly requires designated prefectures (i.e. Hokkaido) to create such a plan.[12] Most importantly, the 1997 Act refers to the Ainu as an “ethnic group,” not an “indigenous people.”[13]
Winter near Otaru, Hokkaido approximately 2.5 hours northwest of Upopoy. Courtesy Pexels.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
In 2007, the UN passed the UNDRIP, which was a resolution drafted for the purpose of protecting indigenous peoples worldwide.[14] The UNDRIP addresses a variety of themes including rights of self-determination, rights to protect culture, land rights, etc.[15] For example, the resolution provides that “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples . . . to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.”[16] The Japanese government, however, has been criticized for failing to do just this.[17]
Promotion of Measures to Realize a Society Where the Pride of the Ainu People is Respected Act (“2019 Act”)
The most recent 2019 Act primarily focuses on tourism and an “Ethnic Coexistence Space Constituent Facility” — a future space that has been compared to a museum or theme park.[18] For Ainu communities and rights advocates, one of the most important details of this Act is the use of the term “indigenous people” in addition to “ethnic group” when referring to the Ainu people — although this was first done by resolution in the Diet in 2008.[19] Sections 20-31 detail information related to the National Ainu Museum and Park (Upopoy).[20] 660 million yen was appropriated in 2019 for tourism promotion, regional and international exchanges, Ainu intellectual property management, and teaching about Ainu culture.[21]
There are a number of steps that have been omitted from this timeline, but from the UNDRIP’s adoption in 2007, there has been slow but steady progress to establish a tangible Ainu history center.[22] Upopoy and the National Ainu Museum are a campus in Hokkaido dedicated to preserving Ainu tradition and transmitting Ainu culture.[23] The museum and park can be viewed remotely on the Upopoy website for those interested in Ainu culture, but both are not open to visitors yet.[24]
[1] Higashimura Takeshi, No Rights, No Regret: New Ainu Legislation Short on Substance, Nippon.com (Apr. 26, 2019), https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00479/no-rights-no-regret-new-ainu-legislation-short-on-substance.html.
[2] Sayaka Saito, Ainu: “Homogenous” Japan’s Indigenous People, 107 Child.’s Images of Identity, Transgressions: Cultural Stud. and Educ. 131-47 (2015).
[3] See e.g., Stewart & Stewart-Harawira, “Under Erasure”: Suppressed and Trans-Ethnic Māori Identities, 5(2) J. of World Phils., 1–12 (2020).
[4] Ainu, Minority Rts. Grp. Int’l (Apr. 2018), https://minorityrights.org/minorities/ainu/.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Griseldis Kirsch, Japan and the Other – Its (not-s-) Hidden Minorities, The Asia Dialogue (May 23, 2018), https://theasiadialogue.com/2018/05/23/japan-and-the-other-i-its-not-so-hidden-minorities/.
[8] G.A. Res. 61/295, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Sept. 13, 2007).
[9] Ainu no hitobito no hokori ga sonchō sareru shakai o jitsugen suru tame no shisaku no suishin ni kansuru hōritsu [Promotion of Measures to Realize a Society Where the Pride of the Ainu People is Respected Act], Law No. 16 of 2019 (Japan).
[10] Ainu, supra note 4.
[11] Ainu bunka no shinkō narabini Ainu no dentō-tō ni kansuru chishiki no fukyū oyobi keihatsu ni kansuru hōritsu [Act on the Promotion of Ainu Culture, and Dissemination of Knowledge about Ainu Tradition], Law No. 52 of 1997 (Japan).
[12] Id. at §§ 4-5.
[13] Id. at § 1.
[14] G.A. Res. 61/295, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Sept. 13, 2007).
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Emiko Jozuka, Japan’s ‘Vanishing’ Ainu Will Finally be Recognized as Indigenous People, CNN (Apr. 22, 2019), https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/20/asia/japan-ainu-indigenous-peoples-bill-intl/index.html.
[18] Id.
[19] Ainu no hitobito no hokori ga sonchō sareru shakai o jitsugen suru tame no shisaku no suishin ni kansuru hōritsu [Promotion of Measures to Realize a Society Where the Pride of the Ainu People is Respected Act], Law No. 16 of 2019 (Japan). at § 1 (Uses “senjuuminzoku” [indigenous people] in addition to “minzoku” [ethnic group]).
[20] Teruki Tsunemoto, Overview of the Ainu Policy Promotion Act of 2019, Foreign Press Ctr. of Japan (2019), https://fpcj.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/b8102b519c7b7c4a4e129763f23ed690.pdf; About Upopoy, Upopoy, https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/about/.
[21] Ainu no hitobito no hokori ga sonchō sareru shakai o jitsugen suru tame no shisaku no suishin ni kansuru hōritsu [Promotion of Measures to Realize a Society Where the Pride of the Ainu People is Respected Act], Law No. 16 of 2019 (Japan). at § 1.
[22] Id.
[23] Facility Information, Upopoy, https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/facility/upopoy/.
[24] Virtual Upopoy, Upopoy, https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/virtual360/.