In 2008, just before the G8 summit took place in Hokkaido, another less covered event occurred on the same island. At the Indigenous People’s Summit, representatives of indigenous groups from all over the world met, bringing special attention to Japan’s own native people, the Ainu. Ahead of the summit, the Japanese government issued a statement recognizing the Ainu as the indigenous people of Japan, as well as promising immediate support and aid.
This was the third time the Japanese government signaled a change in its policy towards the Ainu. In 1899, …