Dr. Celeste Lo Tin-yan, Research Assistant of the School of Law of the City University of Hong Kong, and a member of the Constitutional Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong, called on Japan to confront historical injustices against the Ainu and Ryukyu Indigenous peoples in a speech delivered on Sept. 23 during the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Speaking in an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr. Lo said the Ainu and Ryukyu Indigenous peoples have long suffered systemic marginalisation and colonial oppression under Japanese rule.
She noted that for centuries the Ainu were dispossessed of their ancestral lands, banned from speaking their native language, and prohibited from practising their traditional ceremonies. Although Japan formally recognised the Ainu as Indigenous people in 2019, profound inequalities remain, she said.
Dr. Lo also highlighted the distinct and heavy grievances of the Ryukyu people of Okinawa. Following the illegal annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom, their language and cultural identity were systematically suppressed, and their appeals for cultural preservation and recognition of their Indigenous status have been repeatedly ignored by the Japanese government, she said.
Citing the United Nations Human Rights Committee, Dr. Lo said discrimination against the Ainu and Ryukyu people remains deeply entrenched in economic, cultural and social spheres.
She urged Japan to fully acknowledge these historical injustices, return ancestral territories, open historical archives, and engage directly with the affected Ainu and Ryukyu communities to deliver meaningful redress.
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