Editing Ainu people (section)

==Ethnic rights==
[[File:Oki Ainu Dub Band at tff.Rudolstadt 2007.jpg|thumb|The Oki Dub Ainu Band, led by the Ainu Japanese musician [[Oki (musician)|Oki]], in Germany in 2007.]]

===Legal action===
[[File:AinuSan.jpg|thumb|Ainu people in front of a traditional building in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.]]
On March 27, 1997, the Sapporo District Court decided a landmark case that, for the first time in Japanese history, recognized the right of the Ainu people to enjoy their distinct culture and traditions. The case arose because of a 1978 government plan to build two dams in the [[Saru River]] watershed in southern Hokkaidō. The dams were part of a series of development projects under the Second National Development Plan that were intended to industrialize the north of Japan.{{sfnp|Levin|2001|pages=445–446}} The planned location for one of the dams was across the valley floor near [[Nibutani]] village,{{sfnp|Levin|1999}} the home of a large community of Ainu people and an important center of Ainu culture and history.{{sfnp|Levin|2001|pages=419, 447}} When the government commenced construction on the [[Nibutani Dam]] in the early 1980s, two Ainu landowners refused to agree to the expropriation of their property. These landowners were Tadashi Kaizawa and Shigeru Kayano—well-known and important leaders in the Ainu community.{{sfnp|Levin|2001|page=443}} After Kaizawa and Kayano declined to sell their land, the Hokkaidō Development Bureau applied for and was subsequently granted a Project Authorization, which required the men to vacate their land. When their appeal of the Authorization was denied, Kayano and Kaizawa's son Koichi (Kaizawa died in 1992) filed suit against the Hokkaidō Development Bureau.

The final decision denied the relief sought by the plaintiffs for pragmatic reasons (the dam was already in place), but the decision was nonetheless heralded as a landmark victory for the Ainu people. Nearly all of the plaintiffs' claims were recognized. Moreover, the decision marked the first time Japanese case law acknowledged the Ainu as an indigenous people and contemplated the responsibility of the Japanese nation to the indigenous people within its borders.{{sfnp|Levin|1999|p=442}} The decision included broad fact-finding that underscored the long history of the oppression of the Ainu people by Japan's majority, referred to as {{lang|ja-Latn|wajin}} in the case, and discussions about the case.{{sfnp|Levin|1999}}{{sfnp|Levin|2008}} The decision was issued on March 27, 1997. Because of the broad implications for Ainu rights, the plaintiffs decided not to appeal the decision, which became final two weeks later. After the decision was issued, on May 8, 1997, the Diet passed the Ainu Culture Law and repealed the Ainu Protection Act—the 1899 law that had been the vehicle of Ainu oppression for almost one hundred years.<ref name="ainushinpou">{{cite journal |last=Yoshida Hitchingham |first=Masako |title=Act for the Promotion of Ainu Culture and Dissemination of Knowledge Regarding Ainu Traditions – A Translation of the Ainu Shinpou |journal=[[Asian–Pacific Law & Policy Journal]] |volume=1 |issue=1 |year=2000 |url=http://blog.hawaii.edu/aplpj/files/2011/11/APLPJ_01.1_hitchingham_masako.pdf |access-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713190741/http://blog.hawaii.edu/aplpj/files/2011/11/APLPJ_01.1_hitchingham_masako.pdf |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |url-status=live}}<br />The law's original Japanese text is available at [[:ja:s:アイヌ文化の振興並びにアイヌの伝統等に関する知識の普及及び啓発に関する法律|Wikisource]].</ref>{{sfnp|Levin|2001|page=467}} While the Ainu Culture Law has been widely criticized for its shortcomings, the shift that it represents in Japan's view of the Ainu people is a testament to the importance of the Nibutani decision. In 2007, the "Cultural Landscape along the [[Saru River|Sarugawa River]] resulting from Ainu Tradition and Modern Settlement" was designated an [[Cultural Landscapes of Japan|Important Cultural Landscape of Japan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/412/00003550 |title=Database of Registered National Cultural Properties |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |access-date=April 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223144454/https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/412/00003550 |archive-date=December 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> A later action seeking the restoration of Ainu assets held in trust by the Japanese government was dismissed in 2008.<ref>Levin & Tsunemoto, ''Oklahoma Law Review''.</ref>

===Governmental bodies on Ainu affairs===
There is no single government body to coordinate Ainu affairs. Rather, various advisory boards are set up by the Hokkaido government to advise on specific matters. One such committee operated in the late 1990s,{{sfnp|Siddle|1996}} and its work resulted in the {{ill|1997 Ainu Culture Law|ja|アイヌ文化振興法}}.<ref name="ainushinpou" /> This panel was criticized for including no Ainu members.{{sfnp|Siddle|1996}}

In 2006, another panel was established, which notably included an Ainu member for the first time. It completed its work in 2008, issuing a major report that included an extensive historical record and called for substantial government policy changes towards the Ainu.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Umeda |first1=Sayuri |title=Japan: Official Recognition of Ainu as Indigenous People |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/?disp3_l20540633_text |access-date=June 26, 2021 |work=Global Legal Monitor |agency=Library of Congress |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |date=September 5, 2008}}</ref>

===Formation of Ainu political party===
On January 21, 2012, the {{Nihongo|[[Ainu Party]]|アイヌ民族党|Ainu minzoku tō}} was founded<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ainu-org.jp/english/index.html |title=Ainu Party |website=ainu-org.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710182919/http://www.ainu-org.jp/english/index.html |archive-date=July 10, 2013}}</ref> after a group of Ainu activists in Hokkaidō announced the formation of a political party for the Ainu on October 30, 2011. The Ainu Association of Hokkaidō reported that Kayano Shiro, the son of the former Ainu leader Kayano Shigeru, would head the party. Their aim is to contribute to the realization of a society where the Ainu and Japanese can coexist and possess equal rights in Japan.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111031a5.html |title=Ainu plan group for Upper House run |newspaper=[[Japan Times]] |date=October 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427092145/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111031a5.html |archive-date=April 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1029/TKY201110290538.html |script-title=ja:参議院選挙 |title=Sangiinsenkyo |trans-title=House of Councillors election |newspaper=[[Asahi Shimbun]] |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709010224/http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1029/TKY201110290538.html |archive-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>

===Official promotion===
The "2019 Ainu act" simplified procedures for obtaining various permissions from authorities in regards to the traditional lifestyle of the Ainu and nurtured the identity and cultures of the Ainu without defining the ethnic group by blood lineage.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Japan's Ainu recognition bill: What does it mean for Hokkaido's indigenous people?|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/25/reference/japans-ainu-recognition-bill-mean-hokkaidos-indigenous-people/ |last=Murakami |first=Sakura |date=February 25, 2019 |work=[[Japan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=May 24, 2020}}</ref>

On July 12, 2020, the [[National Ainu Museum]] was opened. It had originally been scheduled to open on April 24, 2020, prior to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games scheduled in the same year in [[Shiraoi, Hokkaido|Shiraoi]], Hokkaidō. The park was planned to be a base for the protection and promotion of Ainu people, culture, and language.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/ |title=UPOPOY NATIONAL AINU MUSEUM and PARK |website=UPOPOY NATIONAL AINU MUSEUM and PARK |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528125317/https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/ |archive-date=May 28, 2019 }}</ref> The museum promotes the culture and habits of the Ainu people, who are the original inhabitants of Hokkaidō. Upopoy in the [[Ainu language]] means "singing in a large group". The National Ainu Museum building has images and videos exhibiting the history and daily life of the Ainu.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/travelnews/story/70461/upopoy-museum-in-japan-promotes-ainu-culture |title=Visitors can participate in traditional Ainu dance and try out indigenous cuisine |last=Deb |first=Soham |date=August 4, 2020 |website=Outlook Traveller}}</ref>
The Ainu cultural contribution is also recognized by a [[UNESCO]] listing,<ref>submitted by Ainu Association of Hokkaido, Japan 2008-9</ref> in consequence of a [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|UNESCO decision]] to list non-physical cultural assets, including songs and dancing.

In July 2023, it was reported that a group of Ainu from Hokkaido was suing the government to reclaim the right of salmon river fishing. This has been outlawed for a century, except for the exemption of a limited number of salmon for ceremonial purposes. The group claimed the Japanese government did not abide by the 2007 [[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People]], which it had signed.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Motoko |last2=Hida |first2=Hikari |date=July 2, 2023 |title=Japan's Native Ainu Fight to Restore a Last Vestige of Their Identity |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/02/world/asia/japan-ainu-fishing.html |access-date=July 3, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>