TOKYO, June 29 (Kyodo) — A government panel discussing policies concerning the Ainu people plans to urge the Japanese government to take legislative proceedings to support Ainu people's livelihoods, the panel's head said Monday.
The panel agreed to propose in a report, which will be issued at the end of July, to promote policies to enhance the livelihood of Ainu people, Koji Sato, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University, said at a news conference.
"Considering the history that the state policy promoting modernization resulted in causing great damage to the culture of indigenous Ainu people, it is necessary for the state to take initiative to draw up and implement policies with responsibility," Sato said.
The policies include promoting Ainu studies and culture, and beefing up understanding of Ainu people through enhanced education, Sato said, adding that the report is unlikely to mention detailed contents and timing of the legislation.
"We share a view that it is significant for the government to show the public how it will work with the issue with certain philosophy and stances through legislation," Sato said.
The panel also agreed to mention in the report the history of the Ainu people, who were driven into a position to become subject to the government's modernization policy and suffered from discrimination, Sato said.
The report is also expected to mention that there are still disparities between Ainu and other people in such areas as university advancement rates.
The Ainu people live primarily on the northern main island of Hokkaido and have their own language and culture. They suffered under the government's assimilation policy that deprived them of their land, language and customs.
The panel was set up after the central government recognized the Ainu as an "indigenous people" in June last year and pledged to work to "promote current Ainu policies and establish comprehensive measures" based on that recognition.
The recognition came after the United Nations adopted the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007, which outlines the collective and individual rights of an estimated 370 million indigenous people.
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