{
  "id": 4260437,
  "title": "The dark story behind Japan's first people and why they want their ancestors back",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/the-dark-story-behind-japans-first-people-and-why-they-want-their",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T19:15:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-30/shibechari-ainu-tribe-sues-japanese-government/106994024"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Japan's Hokkaido region, a remote indigenous tribe is battling to reclaim the remains of their ancestors. The Shibechari Tribe, located in the Hidaka area on the island's southeast, claims descent from Ainu villages that once resided along the Shizunai River, a traditional fishing ground. A lawsuit was filed by the Shibechari Tribe in May, demanding the return of 279 ancestral remains that were removed from their original burial sites and placed in private institutions like the Upopoy National Ainu Museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.\n\nIf the lawsuit succeeds, the Shibechari Tribe will bury their ancestors near the banks of the Shizunai River, in traditional land. This struggle, however, is part of a larger story of colonial injustice. Unlike the other Japanese islands, Hokkaido only came under Japanese control in 1869. Prior to that, the island was known as Ezo, home to the indigenous Ainu people, who lived in small villages called kotans, catching salmon and hunting deer.\n\nDuring the era of samurai rule (1603-1867), the Matsumae clan held exclusive trading privileges with the Ainu, despite the Shogunate recognizing Ainu territorial sovereignty. The samurai exploited the Ainu, forcing them into slavery at Matsumae fisheries and using Ainu women as sexual slaves for Japanese soldiers, merchants, and fishery workers.\n\nWhen Japan colonized Hokkaido, the Ainu lands were claimed as \"terra nullius\" by the government. The Hokkaido Ainu Association, a group supporting the Ainu community, noted that Japanese colonization had a devastating impact on Ainu communities. The Ainu were officially recognized as an indigenous group in Japan in 2019, but they still face discrimination and lack of recognition.\n\nDr. Awi Mona, a member of a Taiwanese indigenous group, supports the Shibechari Tribe's case, stating that repatriating ancestral remains is a human rights issue rooted in colonial injustice. Hokkaido University's Ken-Ichi Ochiai explained that the Ainu suffered greatly from public discrimination after World War II due to the government's belief in Japanese superiority and Ainu inferiority during the Meiji period.\n\nShibechari chairman Tsutomu Takatsuki believes the Ainu are born from the earth and must return to it. He hopes the tribe can retain the remains from Upopoy National Ainu Museum and return them to their traditional land. The lawsuit is expected to conclude quickly, according to both the Shibechari Tribe's legal team and Dr. Ochiai.",
  "summary": "A group of indigenous people are suing the Japanese government for the return of ancestral remains taken during the brutal colonisation of Hokkaido.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}