Ainu Education

Today

Rights

In 1899, the Japanese government passed an act labelling the Ainu as "former aborigines", with the intention that they would assimilate— this resulted in the Japanese government placing the land the Ainu inhabited under Japanese control. Also, the Ainu were granted automatic Japanese citizenship, effectively denying them the status of an indigenous group.

The 1899 act was replaced in 1997 with the Ainu Cultural Promotion Law— until then the government had stated there were no ethnic minority groups. It was not until June 6, 2008, that Japan formally recognised the Ainu as an indigenous group.

Language

In 2008 an estimate of fewer than 100 remaining speakers of the Ainu language was given. Another researcher, Vovin, placed the number at fewer than 15 speakers. Vovin has characterised the language as "almost extinct". As a result of this, the study of the Ainu language is limited and is based largely on historical research.

Despite the small number of native speakers of Ainu, there is an active movement to revitalize the language, mainly in Hokkaidō, but also elsewhere in Japan. Ainu oral literature has been documented both in hopes of safeguarding it for future generations, as well as using it as a teaching tool for language learners.

In Popular Culture

While the progress towards obtaining equal rights for Ainu people is owed largely to the activists and politicians campaigning for better treatment, Ainu representation in popular culture has also helped spread awareness.

The popular manga (Japanese comic book) Golden Kamuy features an Ainu protagonist and has over 10 million copies in print.