ABSTRACT

The first report by the Japanese government to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1980 denied the very existence of the Hokkaido Ainu. As a signatory to this Covenant, the Japanese government is required to report on the measures it has adopted to ensure protection of the rights contained therein, yet Prime Minister Nakasone unequivocally stated in 1986 that, “Japan’s success on the world market is due to its homogenous population” (Sjöberg 1991).