29% of indigenous Ainu people experienced discrimination: Hokkaido survey

SAPPORO — Twenty-nine percent of Japan’s indigenous Ainu people have experienced discrimination, a survey last year by the Hokkaido Prefectural Government has found.

The government of the country’s northernmost prefecture has conducted the “survey of the Ainu people’s living conditions in Hokkaido” every few years since 1972 to examine their income, rate of advancement to higher education, and the measures they need, with the aim of improving their lives after being subjected to Japan’s assimilation policies and discrimination.

The proportion of respondents who said they have experienced discrimination in the 2023 survey increased by about 6 percentage points from the prior poll in 2017. Particularly notable was the prevalence of victimization over social media, a newly added topic, which was experienced by more than 30% of all respondents.

Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki expressed his disappointment at the results during a regular press conference on Sept. 10, saying, “It’s such a shame,” and revealed that the prefectural government this month launched its first-ever survey targeting Hokkaido residents on their attitudes toward the Ainu people.

He then added, “Prejudice and discrimination through social media may be taking place in the absence of correct understanding by people across the country. We hope that the national government will carry out a nationwide survey,” emphasizing the need to expand the attitude survey to other parts of the country.

The number of Ainu people identified in the latest survey is 11,450. Their population has decreased by more than half since 2006, when it was approximately 24,000. An official of the prefectural government’s Ainu policy division said, “The Ainu population that our municipalities are able to identify is on a downward trend year by year due to the aging of the population and their moving to urban areas.”

The survey also asked respondents about their awareness of the Act on Promoting Measures to Achieve a Society in which the Pride of Ainu People is Respected, the first law in Japan to define the Ainu people as “indigenous people.” The combined percentage of respondents who answered they “did not know” or “know that the law was enacted, but do not know much about its content” exceeded 80%, highlighting the low level of awareness among the parties concerned.

(Japanese original by Jangrae Kim, Hokkaido News Department)