Ainu to form new political party

Thu Nov 17 06:06:05 UTC 2011

...you tell them Jimmy...Viva Ainu!!!!

-------
wahjeh
rolland nadjiwon
___________________________________________
One is never too old to learn something stupid....

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From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
On Behalf Of Huang,Chun
Sent: November-16-11 4:52 AM
To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ILAT] Ainu to form new political party

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 

"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
<http://www.win-ainu.com/> Network-Ainu 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: 

Ainu issues are put on the back burner while other issues gain more
attention in Japan. Many people believe that the 1997 Ainu Cultural Law and
2008 parliament resolution to recognize Ainu as indigenous people solved the
issues that Ainu people have faced, but in reality, they have not not. So,
we need to rise up! Similar to the Arab Spring, maybe this marks the
beginning of an Ainu Spring!

A member of the Planning Committee for the Ainu Party who wished to remain
nameless explained that current governmental policies, laws, and panels on
Ainu policy do not take adequate steps to realize any of the inherent
indigenous rights to which the Ainu are entitled, nor any other priorities
that Ainu have, including issues related to poverty and education. He also
noted:

We hope that with an Ainu political party, not only can we push for policies
that realize Ainu rights, but we can draw attention to the multicultural
nature of Japan while pushing for policies that address a variety of Ainu
issues.

Hiroyuki Nomoto, Tokyo Metropolitan University associate professor and
member of the Planning Committee for the Ainu Party explained that although
the policy stances of the party have not been decided, discussions have
revolved around the following points:

*	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."

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