4th Quarterly, 2005 No.138
New Buraku List Versions Discovered
During BLL Osaka's recent investigations into the illegal acquisition of family registry copies by administrative scriveners, two new Buraku List versions were discovered in a private investigative agency in Osaka city. Eight different list versions have been discovered since the beginning of the Buraku Lists scandal in 1975. Since the two new lists differ from previous versions, they have been confirmed as the 9th and 10th lists.
One of the lists is hand-written on A4 paper (normal letterhead size) and consists of 332 pages that cover the place names of Buraku districts throughout the country with household and populations statistics for each district. For those in Osaka prefecture, it contains directions to the districts from the nearest station, district boundaries, climate, appearance of the housing, and even the major household family names. It specifies 58 districts in Osaka Prefecture as "special Buraku". This high level of detail is also included for Buraku districts in Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara prefectures.
The other list, which is typewritten, consists of 186 pages and is classified by prefecture. It lists the location and number of households of each Buraku district. Handwritten codes were added next to the typewritten place names, indicating that somebody could add notes by hand for their own practical use.
Mr. Suehiro Kitaguchi, Secretary-General of BLL Osaka, commented, "Even today, 30 years after the first revelation of the Buraku Lists, we still find such lists in use. This proves that people are still approaching private investigative agencies to ask for personal background investigations at times such as marriage. We will make concerted efforts to hunt for the truth, and will question the public about the unrecognized reality of Buraku discrimination."
What is "Buraku Lists" Scandal
"Buraku Lists" scandal occurred in November 1975 with an anonymous letter informing the existence of such lists. So far until this recent discovery, eight different versions of "Buraku Lists" had been found. They contain Buraku names, locations, numbers of households and major occupations of residents for about 5,300 Buraku areas in the country. These lists were prepared by private investigative agencies or private detectors, to make money. Buyers of these lists were mainly businesses including major leading companies. While the Ministry of Justice announced the "termination" of the scandal in 1989, whenever an incident of personal background investigation occurs, remaining of Buraku Lists has strongly been questioned. Even today, 30 years after the discovery, discriminatory investigation has unbrokenly been conducted for making profits.
Newly Discovered the 9th and 10th Buraku Lists
(photo by Kaiho Shimbun ? Osaka Edition)