Dear friends,
Japan's parliament (Diet) passed law on Ainu on the 8th May 1997 but
failed to make binding resolution to recognize Ainu as indigenous peoples
and their right as a indigenous peoples of Japan. Also on the 7th May,
Asian Development Bank (ADB) which Japanese Govenment is the major funder
was criticized by the indigenous peoples from Bangladish as ADB projects
violate human rights and destroy environment. We need your support so that
Japan will truly recognize both domestic and international indigenous
peoples rights and stop funding environmentally destructive projedts which
violate human rights of the local peoples.
Please write a letter to Japanese Government (Prime Minister of Japan,
Ryutaro Hashimoto, 2-3-1, Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan) and Japanese
Embassy in your country :
1) to recongize indigenous people' rights of Ainu
2) stop funding the projects of ADB, which environmentally destructive and
violates indigenous peoples' rights
For more information, please read two newspaper articles below,
We really appreciate your support.
Sincerely,
Kazuko Matsue
Forest Research Center, Japan
1-9-14, Sanbonmatsu, Yonago-shi,
Tottori, Japan
Fax:81-859-31-0419
mkazuko@sanmedia.or.jp
Diet to pass law on Ainu culture
Japan's parliament will take its first giant step today toward recognizing
the Ainu as a minority.
By MAKOTO USHIDA
Asahi Evening News 8 May 1997
The government will take a first step today toward ending racial
discrimination against the Ainu, a minority indigenous to northern Japan, as
the Diet is expected to vote into law a bill guaranteeing promotion of their
own culture and traditions.
The bill passed the Upper House on April 9 and a Lower House committee on
Wednesday. Since no political parties stand opposed to it, political sources
said the bill will probably pass through the plenary session of the Lower
House today.
The Ainu Shinpo, or the Ainu New Law, is not without its critics, however.
They point out that the new law fails to mention rights and only focuses on
the promotion of Ainu culture and traditions.
They also suggest it is too little too late, coming a century after a
discriminatory "aborigine law" was imposed on the Ainu, forcing them to
"Japanize" themselves, and some 11 years after former Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone declared Japan a single-race state.
Although these actions created mixed feelings among many Ainu, Jiro
Sasamura, who currently heads the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, says he is
delighted to see the Diet pass the new law. "It took 13 years of hard work
since 1984," said Sasamura. "We would like to express our appreciation (for
its passage) despite the contents of the law."
Sasamura said he is not fully satisfied because the association's efforts to
establish a fund to support the self-sufficiency of the Ainu people has been
dropped from the new law.
"Protecting culture is the most important thing," says Sasamura. "During the
Meiji period, the Ainu people were discriminated against. But we have to
keep an eye out for our future and not stick to repeating stories about our
past," Sasamura said.
The new law was created by four ministries and agencies, mainly the Hokkaido
Development Agency and the Ministry of Education. It goes into much detail
about the need to protect Ainu culture and traditions, but makes no rulings
on the Ainu's indigenous rights. It also fails to mention their political
rights, or the fund for their self-support the Ainu people have called for.
A public corporation will be established to carry out Ainu projects, it
states, but its activities will be strictly controlled by the Hokkaido
Development Agency and the Education Ministry.
The government also acknowledged for the first time in its history the
"indigenous" nature of the Ainu race, but it was only included in the
non-binding resolution attached to the new law.
"It's like they're quibbling with us," said Tokuhei Akibe, who proposed a
draft for an Ainu law 20 years ago. He has been an opinion leader of the
younger Ainu generation ever since.
Akibe is known for reviving the deer hunt, prohibited by government decree
about 120 years ago. Deer and salmon are staple foods of the Ainu.
"The new law picked up only the cultural aspects of the Ainu, and then only
mentions them in modest terms," said Akibe, who is now 53 and living in the
Hokkaido city of Kushiro.
"We cannot live only on culture, and we feel the government has dodged the
essential issues," says Koichi Kaizawa, who fought and won a court battle in
the Sapporo District Court in March over the Nibutani Dam issue.
Kaizawa, who lives near the dam site in Biratori, Hokkaido, argued that
construction of the dam would obliterate Ainu holy grounds, or chinomisiri,
by putting them under water.
The court ruled on March 27 that government officials had illegally
disregarded the values of these indigenous people.
Kaizawa, who praised the court decision as "historical," said that the new
Ainu law lags far behind the spirit of the court ruling.
"The new law is nothing more than a mere cultural promotion law," Kaizawa
says. "It has nothing to do with improving our standard of living and we
feel that should be foremost."
Upper House lawmaker Shigeru Kayano, the first Ainu elected to the Diet,
also led the Nibutani Dam court battle and agrees with Kaizawa that the new
law is far behind the court judgment. "But it is important to pass the law
anyway," said Kayano. "I can't feel at ease until it passes. Only then will
I talk with the Hokkaido Utari Kyokai (Ainu Association of Hokkaido) about
what to do next."
Japan's new law is in step with international trends, however. An
International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004) was
proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, which is also preparing a
Declaration of Rights for Indigenous People.
That's why the Ainu Association asked the central government last year to
adopt and abide by the declaration once it has been passed by the U.N.
The association is not necessarily opposed to Japan's new Ainu law because
it does not include provisions for their indigenous rights, but it
apparently expects the government to seriously consider the issue of rights
after the U.N. makes its declaration. -end-
Aboriginal leaders hit Asian Development Bank projects (7 May 1997 Japan
Times internet service)
Three leaders of Asian indigenous peoples said at a news conference May 7
that their human rights and environment are being violated because of
development projects partially funded by Japan.
The press conference was held prior to the board meeting of the Asian
Development Bank, scheduled for next week in Fukuoka, in which the ADB is
expected to adopt a guideline on how to treat indigenous peoples involved in
ADB-funded development projects. Aboriginal leaders claim such treatment is
presently far from satisfactory. Japan, when its official development
assistance is included, is the major contributor to the ADB.
Subodh Bikash Chakma, a coordinator of indigenous peoples living in
Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, said indigenous peoples should have
been more involved in the process of drawing up such guidelines. "I'm not
against the idea of having a guideline," Subodh said. "What concerns me is
that the ADB's guideline lacks the mechanism to resolve the problems
indigenous people are facing. The ADB is trying to justify what they have
done to us."
Kabita Chakma, who was born in the tracts and is now trying to network
indigenous peoples in the area, said Japan should adhere to its ODA policies
more strictly. "Japan's ODA charter stipulates that environmental
conservation and development be pursued in tandem, and that aid should be
not put to military use. Neither case applies to where I am from," Kabita
said. Before the press conference, the three met with Upper House member
Shigeru Kayano, the first Ainu elected as a lawmaker.