Being Indigenous in a Non-Indigenous Environment: Identity Politics of the Dogai Ainu and New Indigenous Policies of Japan

Abstract

The au th o r discusses the identities and socioeconomic status o f Indigenous people in a non-Indigenous environm ent, ways to recognize Indigenous belonging statistically, and ethnic policies in a Japanese context, specifically focusing on the Dogai Ainu; that is, the Ainu who left their original hom eland of H okkaido and live elsewhere in Japan. The Japanese G overnm ent's 2010 socioeconomic survey of the Dogai Ainu dem onstrated a socioeconomic gap between the D ogai Ainu and the m ajority o f the Japanese. This survey also revealed the difficulty of conducting surveys o f the Dogai Ainu because, in a non-Indigenous environm ent, many o f them tend to conceal their ethnicity for fear of discrim ination and hesitate to participate in surveys. Indigenous peoples in Anglophone countries are increasingly challenging the definition of Indigeneity as imposed by outsiders, and self-identification is becoming an essential com ponent o f recognizing Indigenous belonging to reflect the reality and diversity o f Indigenous identities. Some countries such as the USA and C anada have also begun using self-identification for enum eration in statistics. The case study of the D ogai Ainu, however, suggests that Indigenous belonging cannot always be recognized by self-identification and Indigenous policies may have to be implemented w ithout comprehensive data.

The Ainu and Indigenous politics in Japan: negotiating agency, institutional stability, and change

“…While Hokkaido remains Ainu territory, the Ainu are now found all over the country (Watson, 2014a(Watson, , 2014b. Ainu living outside of Hokkaido have faced a "statistical genocide" in addition to lack of services and acknowledgment (Watson, 2014a(Watson, , 2014bNakamura, 2015). Some Ainu permanently left Hokkaido during the post-war migration period in the 1950s for big cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, taking up low-class occupations as a result of their social origins and lack of qualifications.…”

“…A 1994 survey found that the social welfare rate of Ainu in Hokkaido was more than twice as high as the average rate in Hokkaido (Yoshida, 2014). According to the 2008 Hokkaido Ainu Living Conditions, socioeconomic gaps persist between Hokkaido Ainu and the Wajin in particular regarding household income, employment, and education (Nakamura, 2015). In 2010-2011, the first survey taking into account more than the region of Hokkaido was conducted.…”

“…Moreover, the Ainu officially identified represent less than half of one percent of the Japanese population. As a result, there exists a lack of awareness and education regarding ethnic and Indigenous minorities among the Wajin, and many of them do not understand minority rights (Stevens, 2014;Nakamura, 2015). The focus on culture has also participated in defining Indigeneity primarily in terms of a reified culture, leaving aside the political dimensions of it.…”

“…Until recently, the Ainu had no legal power or special political status as Indigenous people of Japan. Even in Hokkaido, which had been the locus of Ainu policy development, and at the more local level in the district of Nibutani, which historically hosts a large part of Ainu population, the Ainu do not enjoy any specific authority or rights over the land and resources (Nakamura, 2015). Their capacity to influence higher levels of governance is thus restricted.…”

Understanding Indonesian People through Literature: Indigenous Psycho-Sociology Perspectives

“…The global-local philosophy cannot be forgotten in order to promote the local to the global level (Ghose & Mukherjee, 2008) so that a country can continue to exist in the global era. A study conducted by Nakamura (2015) concerning indigenous studies showed that this study is very important to recognize the indigenous people of a country. Moreover, the study is also important in terms of bringing justice to indigenous and non-indigenous communities.…”