Buraku Liberation News, January 1998 issue (No.100)
Buraku Problem Q & A
Lower Literacy Rate of Buraku People
Q Is it true that illiteracy exists among Buraku people up to the present ?
A According to the survey in 1993 conducted by the Management and Coordination Agency, one out of ten Buraku people, more or less, find it hard to read Japanese letters, including Japanese-originated Hiragana and Chinese characters (Chart 6).
By region as shown in Chart 7, the illiteracy rate is higher in the Kyushu region, where the literacy movement originated. It suggests that this region has a higher rate of pupils absent from school for a long period and children who did not enroll in school at all.
Chart 8 and 9 indicate that one out of 4 Buraku people at the age of 70 years old and above have difficulty either in reading or writing Japanese, while 50 % of Buraku people are illiterate in their 80's and more. One out of ten who belong to their 50's are considered as people who are not enough literate.
When it comes to people younger than 50 years old, the illiteracy rate drastically dropped as a result of Dowa education that considerably solved the problems of Buraku children's long term absence and unenrollment to school.
However, we have to remember that illiteracy has been reproduced, considering the statistical facts that 2 % of Buraku youth who are in their 30's or less find it hard either to read or write Japanese.
While these statistics are based on subjective answers of the interviewees, it is not possible to grasp what degree of literacy they have achieved. A survey should be conducted to look at the situation more objectively, including the literacy of foreign residents.