The Buraku liberation movement puts the utmost importance on education. The Dowa education movement, otherwise known as the Burakuliberation education movement, began before WWII. By 1970, it had almost achieved its goal of solving the problems of non-enrolment and long-term absence from school of Buraku Children. They were experiencing these problems due to the impact of discrimination. During this time a campaign for free provision of textbooks to elementary and junior high school students spread throughout the country and eventually succeeded. Every year, about 20,000 Dowa educators meet at the annual convention of the National Dowa Educators' Association, which runs under the principle to "learn deeply from the reality of discrimination". Having the policy to combat all forms of discrimination, the Buraku liberation movement has forged solidarity with other minority groups in Japan including Korean residents, people with disabilities, the Ainu people, migrant workers and women. Japan's ratification of international human rights conventions in response to international efforts at the UN level has had a great impact on the promotion of human rights issues in Japan. Even though the UN declared the year 1990 as the International Literacy Year, the literacy campaign in Japan had already been developed within the Buraku liberation movement for quite some time. It began as a Dowa education initiative in Fukuoka prefecture in the 1960's.

|Back|Next|