Japan to recognise Ainu as 'indigenous people' for first time

[myon]

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/japan-recognise-ainu-indigenous-people-time-190215053116742.html

After decades of discrimination, the government of Japan has introduced a bill to recognise the country's ethnic Ainu minority as an "indigenous" people for the first time - a move welcomed by activists as a "first step" towards achieving equality.
The Ainu people, traditionally a society of hunter-gatherers on the northern island of Hokkaido, have long suffered the effects of a policy of forced assimilation that threatened to wipe out their culture.
Even though discrimination has receded gradually, income and education gaps between them and the rest of Japan remain.

"It is important to protect the honour and dignity of the Ainu people and to hand those down to the next generation to realise a vibrant society with diverse values," top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday.
"Today, we made a cabinet decision on a bill to proceed with policies to preserve the Ainu people's pride."
The bill is the first to recognise the Ainu as "indigenous people" and calls for the government to make "forward-looking policies", including measures to support communities and boost local economies and tourism following a long history of exploitation and cultural suppression.

[elix]

Some 130 or so years ago the Japanese government passed a law that officially declared the Japanese people to be one uniform ethnic body, utterly erasing the indigenous Ainu identity -- or, they tried, and failed.

This day has been an incredibly long time coming for the Ainu.

[Griff]

Took them what 562 years?

[elix]

Couldn't remember the name of the law or exactly what year it was passed. I thought it was the 1880s, but nope, 1899.

Repealed in 1997.

[Mr.Brown]

now how about the okinawans

most japanese dont even see of them as actual japanese people

[Crimor]

Also stop shitting on burakumin while we're at it.

[Freezorg]

Where'd you get this from? I've never heard about this at all.

[Swilly]

Burakumin are a catch all for several tribal/ethnic/class groups that are shit on. The Ainu are included.

[Beardy]

okinawa is pretty isolated from japan, although the japanese conquest has integrated japanese culture and the language in okinawa.

several asian countries have problems with treating a subsection of their nation very poorly, almost to the point they might as well not be under the same flag and be separate countries.

south korea and jeju, japan and okinawa, china in general (taiwan, tibet, etc.)

[Purple Magpie]

I mean we don't exactly treat Puerto Rico particularly well either. I get it's worse in Asia, but we're no angels on that front.