Buraku Liberation News, Aug 1998 issue (No.103)
BLHRRI made a Counter Report to the Fourth Periodic Report by the Japanese Government under the ICCPR
On 14 June 1998, the Japanese Government submitted the Fourth Periodical Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in accordance with the requirement of article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
In reaction to the Report, the Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute has made a counter report from the view point of non-governmental organizations and experts in Japan, regarding discrimination against Buraku people, Korean residents, other foreign residents, women, persons with disabilities, and Ainu people.
In this issue, we publish the counter report about the Buraku issue as well as the report by the Japanese Government. This is the first part of the series.
A Critique Based on the Present State of Discrimination Against Buraku People
by Kenzo Tomonaga
Director, Buraku Liberation and
Human Rights Research Institute
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Introduction
In the Fourth Periodic Report by the Government of Japan under Article 40 Paragraph 1(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter the Fourth Periodic Report), the Buraku issue is mentioned in relation to Article 26 of the Covenant. The number of references to the Buraku issue in the Fourth Periodic Report exceeds the number of references in the Third Periodic Report. We welcome this increase in the number of references to the Buraku issue because we believe it reflects the serious position of the government in response to the deep interest of the Human Rights Committee on this issue(1).
In looking at its contents, however, there are some problems with this Report. I will point out these problems below.
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References to the Actual State of Buraku Discrimination at Present are Not Correct.
The Fourth Periodic Report had the following to say about the actual state of Buraku discrimination:
" The Government has, based on three 'Special Measures Laws', promoted various measures concerning the Dowa problem, recognizing that this problem is an important issue concerning the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
As a result, large improvements, including those in the physical living environment, have been realized, closing the gap that had existed in various aspects. Those improvements have been confirmed by the fact-finding surveys carried out in Dowa districts in Fiscal Year 1993.
Psychological discrimination concerning the Dowa problem still deeply persists, especially in matters relating to marriage, although this discrimination is steadily disappearing as a result of education and enlightenment measures implemented in a variety of creative ways."
In this assessment of the problems facing Buraku people, at least three important points are missing.
First, the improvement of the environment and living conditions of Buraku areas has not been completed. Though it is widely thought that the special measures have been implemented completely within designated Dowa areas, the fact is that approximately 20 percent of the projects remain uncompleted in the areas where improvement projects have been carried out.
Furthermore, a more serious problem is the existence of 1,000 Buraku communities where improvement projects have not been carried out at all because those areas were not designated as Dowa areas by the government.
In most of these areas, people in the community live under sub-standard living conditions. The government has never conducted a survey of these areas to assess their condition, despite urging from several organizations related to the Buraku liberation movement to do so(2).
As for the second problem, the living, working, industrial and educational conditions of Buraku people have improved somewhat from what they were in the past. However, it is not pointed out that Buraku discrimination continues to be a serious issue today.
This point is mentioned in surveys carried out by the government. For example, the 1993 fact-finding surveys of Buraku areas, carried out by the Management and Coordination Agency and mentioned in the Fourth Periodic Report, clarified this point.
Looking at the number of households by economic status ( See table on page 10 ), we can see that the living conditions in Buraku communities have been improving when we compare the figures for 1985 and 1993.
Compared to the national average in the National Survey on Living Conditions conducted in 1992, however, it is obvious that the rate for Buraku households is higher than the national average in the following categories: welfare, the resident tax exemption, and the fixed resident tax rate.
On the other hand, the rate of Buraku households who pay the resident tax according to income level is lower than the national average.
Looking at the data for educational background per household (the survey was conducted among family members 15 years-old and up) ( See table 2 on page 10 ), the school enrollment rate of Buraku people today has increased from 1985.
But compared to the national average in a 1990 census, the ratio of Buraku people who had either never enrolled in school or finished only primary education is much higher than that of national average, while the ratio of Buraku people who finished lower secondary education and higher education is much lower than that of the national average.
Focusing on the rate of completion of higher education, the percentage is just one third of the national average ( Buraku areas : 7.6 %, the national average : 21.2 % ).
On the other hand, one might pose the question of whether the big gap in educational background between Buraku people and the national average is just because senior members of the community who had very little formal education are also included in the statistics.
To answer this, I will refer to a comparison of the university and college enrollment rates (see Table 3 on page 10) released by the Ministry of Education. Looking at the data, the rate of enrollment into universities and colleges for those in Buraku areas is increasing, rising from 19.1 % in 1985 to 26.5 % in 1996.
But the national average for university and college enrollment rate also increased, rising from 30.5 % in 1985 to 39.0 % in 1996. Thus, it is apparent that the gap in college enrollment rate between Buraku people and the national average is slightly increasing.
(to be continued)
Notes :
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There was no reference to the Buraku issue in the First Periodic Report. As a result, keen questions were made by members of the Human Rights Committee. Since the Second Periodic Report, the Buraku issue has been mentioned. There were references to the Buraku issue totaling 150 words in the Second Report, 360 words in the Third Report and 870 words in the Fourth Report. (The number of words is based on the Japanese version).
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As for the situation of Buraku communities that were not designated as a Dowa area, see the Human Rights Booklet No.15 Kosuke Kita "1000 Buraku communities to be left - Looking at the areas that have never had improvement projects" (BLRI, written in Japanese) .
Fourth Periodic Report by the Government of Japan under Article 40 Paragraph 1(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(The following are only the portion related to the Buraku issue.)
Article 26
The Government has based on three "Special Measures Laws" promoted various measures concerning the Dowa problem, recognizing that this problem to an important issue relating to the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
As a result, large improvements, including those in the physical living environment, have been realized rectifying the gap that had existed in various aspects. Those improvements have been confirmed by fact-finding surveys carried out in Dowa Districts in Fiscal Year 1993.
On the other hand, psychological discrimination concerning the Dowa problem still deeply persists, especially in matters relating to marriage although this discrimination is steadily disappearing as a result of education and enlightenment measures implemented in a variety of creative ways.
The Law regarding the Special Fiscal Measures of the Government for Regional Improvement Projects, the law covering this problem, was set to lapse in March 1997.
The Council on the Policy of Regional Improvement, as a national council on this problem, submitted on 17 May 1996 the report titled Basic Measures for the Future targeted at an early resolution of the Dowa problem.
The Government, taking full account of this report and the agreement, among the ruling parties, made on 26 Jul 1996 a Cabinet Council decision on measures for the future targeted at an early resolution of the Dowa problem. The outlines of this decision are as follows.
First, legislative measures shall be taken transiently for 15 of the projects in order to ensure the smooth transfer from special fiscal measures to general ones for the 45 kinds of projects underway under the current law as mentioned above. Other measures shall be taken to see that the remaining projects are smoothly transferred to the ones under general measures.
Second, the Government promotes actively measures related to the "U.N. Decade for Human Rights Education", and steps up counseling services on human rights relevant to the promotion of education and enlightenment toward elimination of psychological discrimination and the enhancement of relief measures.
Third, steps are continuously being taken to establish subjecthood of administration to improve the self-reliance of Dowa district residents, to eliminate pseudo-actions purportedly on behalf of Dowa problems, and to create an environment for free exchange of opinion on the Dowa issue.