Indigenous in Japan? The Reluctance of the Japanese State to Acknowledge Indigenous Peoples and Their Need for Education

Narratives and Negotiations of Identity in Japan and Criticality in (English) Language Education: (Dis)Connections and Implications

“…Though highlighting forms of “diversity” in Japanese society, such an approach equates “Japaneseness” with ethnic homogeneity, inadvertently essentializing Japaneseness and marginalizing diverse ways of being, becoming, and belonging. Referring to Japan, Hammine (2019a) also warns of positioning all people within a community (e.g., “Okinawans”) as indigenous or minoritized, as some people may not desire to be categorized as such, and because “Okinawa” and community membership therein is in motion due to the movement of people. Additionally, Hammine (2019b) cautions critical scholars regarding essentializing minoritized groups in the name of promoting “multilingualism” and “language revitalization.” This glosses over, for example, complexities and disparities within, and tensions between, communities (e.g., such as the people of the Ryukyus, or even one specific “island community”).…”

“…A new law in 2019 finally officially recognized the Ainu as indigenous, and this was coupled with the construction of a museum dedicated to Ainu heritage (called "Upopoy") (Umeda, 2019). The historical people of the Ryukyus have yet to be recognized as indigenous (Hammine, 2019a). Communal and academic efforts to, for instance, problematize the homogeneity narrative, document and discuss sociohistorical marginalization, address social, educational, and economic disparity within and transcending communities, and promote language revitalization in the Ryukyus, are occurring (albeit without the formal support of national government) (Anderson & Heinrich, 2014;Hammine, 2020).…”

Conceptualising L’Space Olympique: Tokyo 2020 Olympic education in thought, production and action

“…Critique of the Western orientation of Olympic education and its roles within the global colonising project (in which a "universal" values system has been disseminated, infiltrated and readily accepted within an array of educational landscapes) (Chatziefstathiou & Henry, 2012;Hoberman, 1995;MacAloon, 2013;Naul et al, 2017), can also be situated within wider concerns about Western and hegemonic cultural logics within Japanese education traditions and structures (Anderson et al, 2020;Hammine, 2019;Oba, 2010;Saito, 2020;Zhen et al, 2020). Scholars here have highlighted both the notable, though slow, advancements Japan's education systems have undergone towards adopting international outlooks, and the challenges the sector still faces with regards to implementing policy and structural reforms (Yamamoto, 2018).…”

“…The paradox, also, is that while the educational sector has embraced internationalisation in teaching training, school settings, curriculum development, and student experiences (Saito, 2020;Zhen et al, 2020), there remain tensions over meaningful postcolonial/imperial shifts that might disrupt conventional regimes, and empower teachers and students in new ways. For example, acknowledgement of indigenous narratives and related alternative knowledge paradigms, or appreciations for critical historical revisionism regarding the country's 20th and 21st century developments and transnational relations (Anderson et al, 2020;Hammine, 2019).…”

Global Mapping of Indigenous Resilience Facing the Challenge of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…* Note: the construction of the table was carried out based on contributions from various authors. Sources:[114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128].…”