Civic Group Protests Event Alleging Hate Speech Against the Ainu

Last month, a local activist group showed up to protest the propaganda.

Last month, a civic group protested a lecture and panel exhibition organized by the “Ainu History Learning Association,” accusing the event of promoting hate speech against the Ainu people. The event took place at the Shiroishi Ward Citizens’ Center in Sapporo, Hokkaido, a region historically inhabited by the Ainu.

The lecture, titled “Reviewing Ainu Supplementary Textbooks! Let’s Learn Together!” was led by Dr. Mitsuaki Matoba. It encouraged families, including parents with young school children, to attend.

The accompanying panel exhibition claimed that the Ainu are distinct from Indigenous peoples globally, drawing comparisons to Australia’s Aboriginal peoples and Native Americans in the U.S. It also asserted that the Jomon people, who lived in Hokkaido over 10,000 years ago and are considered common ancestors of ethnically Japanese people, predated the Ainu in the region.

In response, approximately 30 members of the civic group C.R.A.C. North gathered outside the venue to protest. They held signs and banners with messages such as “Ainu Denial is Hate Speech” and “Discrimination Against Ainu is Illegal.” The protesters called for an end to historical distortions and the spread of…