Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:53 pm Post subject: Discrimination in Japan 'deep,' U.N. rep says after 9-day vi
Discrimination in Japan 'deep,' U.N. rep says after 9-day visit
TOKYO — Discrimination in Japan is "deep and profound," with government leaders lacking recognition of the depth of the problem and the public having a "strong xenophobic drive," a U.N. special rapporteur said Monday in wrapping up a nine-day visit in Japan.
Doudou Diene of Senegal, appointed by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, called for stronger political will at the highest level to combat the issue, for Japan to enact a national law condemning racism as is obligatory under international conventions, and to improve its public education about minorities in the country.
"It will be a long-term task to change people's mentality and it must be done through education," said Diene, special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
During his stay since July 3, Diene met with officials of both national and local authorities to determine the extent Japan is complying with its international human rights obligations. He also visited communities of minorities such as the aboriginal Ainu, the "burakumin," formerly social outcasts in feudal Japan, and people of Korean and Chinese descent.
From these meetings, Diene concluded there was a clear gap between the perceptions of the reality of discrimination between government officials and the minority communities.
Japan has liaisons nationwide that aim to eliminate discrimination against the "burakumin" and the Diet passed a law in 1997 to help preserve Ainu traditions and culture.
But citing cases in which the "burakumin" were listed by private groups and discriminated against in employment, Diene criticized the lack of government action to combat such practice and said, "I find this shocking and terrible."
"Japan has no comprehensive national law against discrimination," Diene said at a news conference. "I strongly recommend such a national law be drafted not only based on international instruments Japan takes part in, but that the minorities concerned have to be consulted."
A spokesman of the Justice Ministry, which Diene visited last Wednesday, declined to comment on the special rapporteur's remarks but said a human rights protection bill is under deliberation in parliament.
Describing the discrimination against the Ainu, "burakumin," and Korean and Chinese residents as being "deeply rooted" in historical and cultural aspects, Diene urged the Japanese government to set up an organ at the national level to promote equality for minorities.
Having examined samples of Japanese junior high school textbooks provided to him by the education ministry, Diene said Japan must ensure that the roles and contributions of minorities to the country be taught accurately and appropriately so that Japanese people have the right perception.
Without specifically naming Japan, Diene also criticized the current global trend in which xenophobic sentiment stemming from measures to combat terrorism and illegal immigration has "slowly made its way into the platforms of democratic parties."
Diene said he had requested a meeting with Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara, known for his nationalistic views and controversial remarks against foreigners, but was denied an appointment.
But the special rapporteur gave a positive appraisal of the Japanese government's cooperation with his visit and said this indicated "in a positive way" that Japan is willing to accept recommendations to tackle the problem.
Diene said he shared his preliminary findings with the Japanese government Monday morning and will wait for Japan's response before completing a final report to be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights next March.
He will also present a summary of his findings in an interim report to the U.N. General Assembly this autumn. It was the first time a U.N. special rapporteur on racism has visited Japan. (Kyodo News) _________________ Asia Expats Forum Expat Friends Dating
Discrimination in Japan 'deep,' U.N. rep says after 9-day visit
Yep, he should know. After all, he was here for all of nine days !!
Discrimination against the Ainu is illegal and the whole deal with the Burakumin is exaggerated. Osaka has the largest Burakumin population in Japan and it's not a matter of discrimination - a lot of the time these folks just aren't employable.
Of course the Chinese and Koreans get a mention so that the press release stirs up some interest across the Sea of Japan. If anything, it's the Filipinos and Thais that cop the most overt discrimination here, but even that's mild compared with many other countries.
But nobody wants to read about xenophobia in Korea, Bangladesh or Egypt - it's not juicy enough. Japan though, now there's another story.
Discrimination in Japan 'deep,' U.N. rep says after 9-day visit
Yep, he should know. After all, he was here for all of nine days !!
Discrimination against the Ainu is illegal and the whole deal with the Burakumin is exaggerated. Osaka has the largest Burakumin population in Japan and it's not a matter of discrimination - a lot of the time these folks just aren't employable.
Of course the Chinese and Koreans get a mention so that the press release stirs up some interest across the Sea of Japan. If anything, it's the Filipinos and Thais that cop the most overt discrimination here, but even that's mild compared with many other countries.
But nobody wants to read about xenophobia in Korea, Bangladesh or Egypt - it's not juicy enough. Japan though, now there's another story.
I assume they've been there at least as long as the other Japanese and they they are not very different culturally from the other regulars _________________ Asia Expats Forum Expat Friends Dating
Saying the Ainu are "Japanese Hilltribers" is like saying people in Liverpool are "English Hilltribers".
They speak Japanese as their native langauge, adhere to the same cultural norms and for an outsider they are basically indistinguishable from the rest of the population. Most of them live in Hokkaido and good luck picking one out of a line up
Burakumin are a different story. It's an institutionalised lower class and has been around since feudal times. The Burakumin had all the nasty jobs noone wanted such as looking after sewage, waste disposal, and cremating people. They typically lived in towns and villages all to themselves and travelled into cities to do their work. In Osaka, there have been large numbers of them living in Nishinari-ku (just south of the city center). Nowadays following Japan's economic bust in 90's, many failed executives adopted a homeless lifestyle and have moved into areas where large numbers of Burakumin live. Burakumin are no different racially or culturally, they are merely located at the foot of the socio-economic tree.
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:09 pm Post subject: Ainu
Mike wrote:
who are the Ainu and Burakumin??
Well, you got the answer for the Burakumin.
But as for the Ainu, they were the original aboriginal inhabitants of the main Japanese Islands, in other words, they are similar to the Native Americans here in the US, but their culture is much older. In fact, if you want to see what the original inhabitants of Asian continent looked like before they acquired the typical modern Asian physical traits ( Straight dark hair, shortish stature, epicanthal eye fold ( "Asian Eye" ), look at a full blooded Ainu. They look like Australian Aborigines, but with much lighter skin ( actually, they did a genetic test between the two groups,and they are very closely related, most likely from the same ancestral stock from the first great human migraton into Asia 40,000 years ago.
The Ainu lived in Japan long before even the first Native Americans crossed the Bearing Straight from Siberia into the Americas 12 000 years ago.
Some say that some of those early Native americans were Ainu, as speculated with the Kennewick Man remains found in Washington , USA.
But due to decades of Intermarriage with the Japanese ( usually government enforced ) their numbers have been reduced to little more than 200, 000, and there is only around a hundred that still able to speak the Ainu language.
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