Ainu to form new political party

[Huang,Chun]

Thanks, Jen! and Go Ainu!! 

Jimmy 

On Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:59:54
+0900, Jennifer Teeter wrote: 

> Hello everyone, 
> I thought this news
from Ainu Mosir might interest you. 
> In solidarity, 
> Jennifer
http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/ainu-political-party.html
[1] 
> 
> "WE ARE NOT RIGHT-WING, WE ARE NOT LEFT-WING~ WE ARE AINU":
FIRST EVER AINU POLITICAL PARTY TO BE LAUNCHED
> 
> Saturday, October
29th, 2011 marks a revolution in Japanese politics: the first time in
Japanese history a minority group has announced it will form its own
political party. After witnessing the success of minority and indigenous
political parties around the world, members of the Ainu community in
Hokkaido decided to create their own party to campaign for their
issues.
> 
> Led by Shiro Kayano, the President of the Kayano Shigeru's
Nibutani Ainu Museum (named after his late father), Hokkaido Ainu
Association Board Member Hideo Akibe, Hokkaido Ainu Association Ebetsu
City-branch head Yuji Shimizu and their supporters made the announcement
at theSymposium on Multicultural Education in Japanhosted by the World
Indigenous People's Network-Ainu [2] in Sapporo. The party is not
affiliated with the Hokkaido Ainu Association and will start functioning
in January.
> 
> (Photo) 
> Flyer for Symposium on Multicultural
Education with photos of Shiro Kayano (top left), Yuji Shimizu (center
left), Hideo Akibe (center right), and Nomoto Hiroyuki (bottom left) 
>
Shiro Kayano stated at the symposium: 
> 
>> What is needed for the Ainu
people is unity. We need to unite the Ainu people and our supporters.
Some people say that because we were traditionally hunters and gathers
so we can not unite as one. However, we also practiced fishing and
small-scale agriculture, so this argument holds no ground. We can
unite.
> The Ainu people have been no stranger to politics. Kayano's
father, Shigeru Kayano, served as a House of Councilor's member from
1994 until 1998. While Shigeru Kayano was the only Ainu person that won
a seat in parliament, other Ainu people have campaigned for seats
including Kaori Tahara, a former member of the New Party Daichi.
> 
>
Hideo Akibe added: 
> 
>> Having Shigeru Kayano in the parliament played
a huge role in the enactment of the Ainu Culture Law in 1997. I feel it
may be destiny, after the passing of the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and us holding the 2008 Indigenous
Summit in Hokkaido, that this move to form a political party has come
about.
> Shiro Kayano further elaborated on the necessity for Ainu
people to have their own political party where their issues are not
overshadowed or ignored: * the restoration of Ainu rights
> * the
realization of the coexistence of multicultural groups in Japanese
society
> * the creation of a sustainable society based on harmony with
Nature
> 
> The Ainu Party which is aiming to bring at least ten
candidates to parliament in 2013, will help bring Ainu issues to the
forefront of Japanese policy deliberations. It may also provide a
platform for other minority groups, such as Zainichi Koreans in Japan to
raise their voices against violations of their rights. Currently,
Zaiinichi Korean organizations are campaigning for their schools to
become accredited by the government. At present, with "international"
English schools as an exception, any school that does not use Japanese
as its main language cannot become accredited, forcing its students to
jump through countless hurdles to matriculate into universities.
> 
>
The idea behind the Ainu party is for Ainu people to unite to promote
their own issues, while taking steps towards a multicultural Japan where
all minorities can live in harmony. As Hideo Akibe explained: "We are
not right-wing, we are not left-wing~ We are Ainu."

 


Links:
------
[1]
http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/ainu-political-party.html
[2]
http://www.win-ainu.com/
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