Shiro Kayano, director of a private museum in eastern Hokkaido and the son of the only Ainu to serve in the Diet. A group representing the Indigenous people has sued to regain the right, lost over a century ago, to freely fish for salmon in a Hokkaido river.
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Japan is a country that says it follows the rule of law, but in terms of Indigenous rights, they are very behind.
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Moonraker
Well, Japan is in a bit of a bind. It wants to keep things low key, making a shilling here and there out of Ainu tourist attractions but not wanting to acknowledge the genocide it committed against the Ainu. This would obviously come a little more into focus if indigenous people got some of their traditional fishing rights back while everyone else had to lay off.
JeffLee
While they're at it, Japan could return large swaths of traditional Ainu lands to their original inhabitants, as Canada has done. I'm just kidding. Japan will never do that.
Aly Rustom
Japan is a country that says it follows the rule of law,
yup that's what they say.
but in terms of Indigenous rights, they are very behind.
in terms of Indigenous rights only?
David Brent
Not only in terms of Indigenous rights!
dan
Not only indigenous rights but many others for example father's rights to see their children after a divorce!!!
Sven Asai
It’s impossible to turn all history back. Then everyone wants something back from someone else. Dshenghis Khan, Roman Empire, North American tribes, what if their descendants all want and also really would get their areas back? Impossible in every scenario. The Ainu still exist and can live with a part of their old culture, have even democratic rights and can even demand something and bring it to a court and they can even afford and buy salmon from anywhere, which is not so different from fish in that specific river their ancestors used to catch fish from. They have under historical considerations much more luck and privileges than many other indigenous tribes or people you now only find in graves and history books anymore and sometimes not even that, there are also many completely forgotten ones.
virusrex
To be perfectly fair Japan is hopelessly behind in a lot of other things that also says are a priority, from preventing gender discrimination to the support of refugees. This is just another example of the same thing happening.
Mr Kipling
Behind? Maybe Japan is just ahead and not pandering to every group wanting cash? Unless you think those people in the cute Ainu costumes at the Ainu culture "theme parks" are real Ainu.
purple_depressed_bacon
Japan? Behind on something? Shocker.