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New Ainu Law
Beginning in the 1980s, Ainu people presented social claims for legal status and for the protection of their rights as an ethnic group. Specifically, they have requested the Japanese government to enact laws that will enable them to recover and develop their ethnic culture, through, for example, the study of the Ainu language, and the foundation of a fund for cultural self-help.
In the early 1990s, in the context of a worldwide movement of indigenous peoples to recover their rights, The Ainu Association of Hokkaido insisted on the abolition of the “Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law,” and the enactment of new Ainu legislation. The timing was very appropriate, because at the same time, the first lawmaker of Ainu origin was elected to the Diet. Furthermore, a landmark court ruling determined that the planned construction of the Nibutani Dam ignored and might damage Ainu culture. Accordingly, the Japanese government enacted “The New Ainu Law” in 1997. The official designation of this new legislation is the “Act for the Encouragement of Ainu Culture and the Diffusion and Enlightenment of Ainu Knowledge Traditions.”
The “Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law,” established in 1899, was abolished following the enactment of the new law. The new law does not define the indigenousness of the Ainu people, which they had also requested, but in the Appendix Resolution, it is stated that “the indigenousness of the Ainu people is a historical fact.”
“The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture (FRPAC)” is responsible for overseeing the new act. Projects such as the study of the Ainu language, and the learning of traditional techniques, have produced some positive results. However, much has to be accomplished, if there is to be full understanding by the Japanese people of Ainu society and culture.
The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku), has portrayed the Ainu as an original ethnic culture in Japan since 1978, at a time when the Japanese government did not recognize the Ainu as a distinct ethnic group. This new exhibition was based on extensive academic research, and has included significant involvement of the Ainu people.
In the early 1990s, in the context of a worldwide movement of indigenous peoples to recover their rights, The Ainu Association of Hokkaido insisted on the abolition of the “Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law,” and the enactment of new Ainu legislation. The timing was very appropriate, because at the same time, the first lawmaker of Ainu origin was elected to the Diet. Furthermore, a landmark court ruling determined that the planned construction of the Nibutani Dam ignored and might damage Ainu culture. Accordingly, the Japanese government enacted “The New Ainu Law” in 1997. The official designation of this new legislation is the “Act for the Encouragement of Ainu Culture and the Diffusion and Enlightenment of Ainu Knowledge Traditions.”
The “Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law,” established in 1899, was abolished following the enactment of the new law. The new law does not define the indigenousness of the Ainu people, which they had also requested, but in the Appendix Resolution, it is stated that “the indigenousness of the Ainu people is a historical fact.”
“The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture (FRPAC)” is responsible for overseeing the new act. Projects such as the study of the Ainu language, and the learning of traditional techniques, have produced some positive results. However, much has to be accomplished, if there is to be full understanding by the Japanese people of Ainu society and culture.
The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku), has portrayed the Ainu as an original ethnic culture in Japan since 1978, at a time when the Japanese government did not recognize the Ainu as a distinct ethnic group. This new exhibition was based on extensive academic research, and has included significant involvement of the Ainu people.