Today only small numbers of Ainu remain, and they constitute one of Japan’s most marginalised groups.

On Friday they will have something to celebrate.

Japan’s parliament is to adopt a resolution that, for the first time, formally recognises the Ainu as “an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture”.

In a nation that has always preferred to perceive itself as ethnically homogenous, it is a highly significant move.

“This resolution has great meaning,” says Tadashi Kato, director of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido. “It has taken the Japanese government 140 years to recognise us as an indigenous people.”

Full Story: BBC

(via Lupa)