Subject: [cwj 16] Ainu rights law's effects perceived as superficial
From: Amit Srivastava <amit@corpwatch.org>
Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 13:27:44 -0700
Seq: 16
Ainu rights law's effects perceived as superficial May 11, 2000 Junichiro Shiozaki Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Almost three years have passed since the enactment of the Ainu rights law to restore the Ainu people's rights and promote Ainu culture, but discrimination against the Ainu still runs deep in Japanese people's minds. The Ainu rights law went into effect in July 1997, recognizing the Ainu as the indigenous people of Hokkaido. The law, which replaced the 1899 Hokkaido Former Aborigine Protection Law, requires municipal governments and the central government to promote Ainu culture. Based on the 1997 law, the Hokkaido government and municipal governments in cities, towns and villages funded the establishment of the Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture, with the Hokkaido Development and Cultural Affairs agencies providing 990 million yen in running costs. The foundation broadcasts Ainu-language lessons on the radio and provides cultural classes in which elderly Ainu people teach Ainu epic poetry called ukara, which is orally passed on from generation to generation. As many as 69 people have taken the classes. The foundation also organizes Ainu festivals at three locations in the country every year. To examine the effects of the cultural promotion policies, the Hokkaido Development and Cultural Affairs agencies will set up an assessment committee this month, but many conflicts with the spirit of the 1997 law have emerged. Jiro Sasamura, 66, chairman of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, said that Ainu people used to pass on Ainu culture with little help, but the law provides for assistance that leads to more cultural events and activities. However, in a survey conducted last October by the Hokkaido government on the life of Ainu people in Hokkaido, only 1.4 percent of pollees cited more cultural activities when they were asked about changes the law had brought about. Kazuyuki Yamamaru, 51, chairman of the Ainu Museum in Shiraoicho, Hokkaido, said that even after the enactment of the law, many Ainu people still did not want to reveal their identity for fear of discrimination. The concept of cultural pride was not widespread. Asked if they had recently faced discrimination, such as being rejected by potential marriage partners, 12.4 percent said yes--an increase of 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey held in 1993, before the enactment of the new law. As many as 15.7 percent of the pollees, a rise of 5.6 points, said that they had heard of other Ainu people suffering discrimination. Mutsuo Nakamura, a law professor at Hokkaido University, said that discrimination could not be expected to disappear only three years after the enactment of the law. Nakamura, who is familiar with the problems faced by the Ainu, said that to promote understanding of Ainu culture, long-term plans must be implemented so Ainu-language speakers and those with knowledge of Ainu culture get opportunities to work at museums. It will take a long time for the spirit of the law, which advocates the realization of a society in which Ainu people are respected as indigenous people, to take root. If measures are not adopted to eliminate discrimination, Ainu cultural promotion policies may end up achieving nothing. ______________________ The Corporate Watch in Japanese http://www.corpwatch.org/japan (CWJ) mailing list is a moderated email list in English designed to connect activists campaigning against Japanese corporations and investments around the world. * To unsubscribe from the CWJ mailing list, send an email to majordomo@jca.apc.org with text "unsubscribe cwj". To subscribe to the CWJ mailing list, send a message to majordomo@jca.apc.org with the text "subscribe cwj" * The CWJ mailing list is NOT intended for wide distribution. If you would like to post messages from this list somewhere else, we ask that you first contact us at cwj@corpwatch.org ______________________