Booklet lists Ainu rights in U.N. declaration This article discusses a booklet published by Citizens’ Diplomatic Center for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (市民外交センター), a Japanese NGO chaired by Professor Hideaki Uemura, professor of international human rights law at Keisen University. The booklet, which was written to show Ainu people how they could make use of the Declaration to improve their conditions, explains that the Declaration gives Ainu the right to self-determination (to control their own affairs politically and economically), to practice their cultural traditions and to have ethnic education in their own language. Japan Times, 7 Nov, 2008.
Ainu lawsuit over fishing rights test case for much larger issues This article also discusses Ainu attempts to have their rights as indigenous people recognised. Asahi Shimbun, 18 Aug 2020.
After the Ainu Shinpō: The United Nations and the Indigenous People of Japan by Crystal Porter, Australian National University. After describing the passing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, this article explains that the Japanese government has ignored the collective rights and self-determination of the Ainu as an indigenous people, which are recognized in the Declaration and emphasized the superiority of individual rights over collective, Indigenous rights. New Voices in Japanese Studies, Dec 2008.
CEMiPoS Backgrounder on Ainu Rights Issues Download the full document here. This is quite a long document that "gives an overview of two important Ainu rights campaigns: the struggle for Ainu fishing rights and the struggle for the repatriation of Ainu human remains. In addition, it discusses the tension between the promotion of culture and the protection of rights, exploitation of Ainu culture, divisions within Ainu society, and the question of Ainu identity." In section 4. "Division of the Ainu society over the establishment of Upopoy and the repatriation of Ainu human remains", the document explains (p14) that only the Ainu Association of Hokkaido was consulted about the plans for Upopoy and other Ainu Associations were ignored. It goes on to argue for Ainu self-determintion and recognition that under the UN declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Ainu must be able to give their "free, prior, and informed consent" to decisions affecting them, such as the creation of Upopoy. CeMiPoS, 1 Apr 2021.
The Story of the Ainu And the remains of Japan’s colonial legacy by Amelie Marmenlind The section on 'The decolonization and controversy of Upopoy' explains that Upopoy was created only in consultation with the Ainu Association of Hokkaido not other Ainu groups, and that all official Ainu projects created by the government have been led by ethnic Japanese people not Ainu people. Metropolis, May 20, 2021.
From assimilation to recognition: Japan’s indigenous Ainu This article describes the process of recognition of Ainu people by the Japanese government largely from the perspective of Yuya Abe, Deputy Head of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido. Although this Association was involved in the discussions about the New Ainu Law and Upopoy and largely welcomed them, Abe recognizes that the Law does not include commitments to return land, resources or political control to Ainu people and has been divisive amonst Ainu groups. He points out that half of the land in Hokkaido is state-owned and much is wilderness so it could easily be returned to Ainu people. Minority Rights Group, Jan 2020.
The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence This article explains the history of colonization, dispossession and assimilation of Ainu people by the Japanese state, before analyzing the Law for the Promotion of Ainu Culture in 1997. In the final section, 'Continuing Controversies', it argues that the law is based on a kind of co-existence or reconciliation that only recognizes Ainu culture as a timeless sphere separated from politics and everyday life - and notes that reconciliation is not a phrase used widely in Japanese. Cultural Survival Magazine, Dec 1999.
Recognition at last for Japan's Ainu An article about the history of the Ainu people and Japanese settlement on of their lands, which discusses their recognition as an indigenous people in 2008. BBC News, 6 Jun, 2008.
Diet officially declares Ainu indigenous The Ainu celebrated a historic moment Friday as the Diet unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes them as indigenous people of Japan. The unprecedented resolution was adopted by both chambers, acknowledging the Ainu's hardships from discrimination and poverty. Japan Times, June 7, 2008.
Toward Ainu- and Japan-Specific Indigenous Policies Teruki Tsunemoto, LL.D., Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies Hokkaido University, Japan A presentation which discusses different definitions of indigenous people as well as Japanese government policy towards Ainu people.
Ainu People Today - 7 Years after the Culture Promotion Law By Yoichi Tanaka. The Ainu people are still struggling for the full recognition and acceptance by the Japanese society of their culture and language, and for the recognition in law of their rights as an indigenous people. An article from 2004, before the Japanese government recognized the Ainu as an indigenous people in 2008.
Ainu hope U.N. move aids indigenous status quest This article, which was written before the Japanese Government recognised the Ainu as an indigenous people, reports on the hopes of Tadashi Kato, chief of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, about how the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples will benefit Ainu people. It also considers different arguments by the government and experts about recognizing the Ainu as an indigenous people and the consequences of such a decision. Japan Times, 13 Oct 2007.
Recognition for a People Who Faded as Japan Grew It was only a few weeks ago that the Japanese government finally, and unexpectedly, recognized the Ainu as an “indigenous people.” Parliament introduced and quickly passed a resolution stating that the Ainu had a “distinct language, religion and culture,” setting aside the belief, long expressed by conservatives, that Japan is an ethnically homogeneous nation. New York Times, July 3, 2008
Upper and Lower Houses of the Diet of Japan recognize the Ainu as Indigenous People This articles discusses the Japanese government's recognition of the Ainu as an indigenous people after the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but also the government's refusal to recognise Ainu people as indigenous before this. Asia Pacific Human Rights Center, 7 Jun 2008.
Ainu and Okinawan Human Rights- United Nations Forum on indigenous issues Various organizations urged the Japanese government to fully realize the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and address human rights violations against the Ainu and Okinawan communities at the tenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues convened at the United Nations Headquarters, New York from the 16th to 27th of May, 2011
Ainu: indigenous in every way but not by official fiat Following the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples in 2007 and shortly before the Japanese government recognised the Ainu as indigenous people, this article answers questions about the history and current situation of Ainu people - and also refers to the situation of Okinawan people. Japan Times, 20 May, 2008.
Ainu, Okinawans join first U.N. indigenous peoples’ conference Delegates for indigenous peoples from around the world, including Ainu and Okinawans, gathered this week at the United Nations to discuss measures to ensure their political representation and freedom from discrimination in the first U.N.-backed conference of its kind. Japan Times, Sep 23, 2014
Recognition for a People Who Faded as Japan Grew This article discusses what their recognition as an indigenous people means for Ainu people and for their human rights. New York Times, July 3, 2008.
Ainu People Today - 7 Years after the Culture Promotion Law By Yoichi Tanaka. The Ainu people are still struggling for the full recognition and acceptance by the Japanese society of their culture and language, and for the recognition in law of their rights as an indigenous people. An article from 2004, before the Japanese government recogmised the Ainu as an indigenous people in 2008.