It was clarified for the research company in the Osaka city to search for the address of Disrciminated-against Buraku in detail when conditions of location around the grounds in which apartment houses are scheduled to construction were investigated, and to have reported these information to developers. It comes to light by the indictment to Osaka Prefecture in January, 2007. There was a similar indictment also in the Osaka Prefectural Association of Buraku Liberation League, and it investigated independently.

The Prefectural Association confirmed that it was a serious land discriminatory phenomenon, holding the denunciation struggle headquarters conference on February 2, and decided to work on the investigation of the truth, Prefectural Association as a whole.

The research company is Osaka office of the marketing research company whose headquarter exists in Tokyo. It receive requests from advertising agencies who make inserts of real estate or the developers of the apartment house, and conducts local evaluation of the scheduled ground and the trend of the price.

In writing the report, it reported on the whereabouts of discriminated-against Buraku as an item such as "Regionality". Osaka Prefecture began investigation based on Ordinance of protection of personal data.

Information whether a area is Dowa district or not is information that should be handled extremely carefully among various personal data, and has the discriminatory expression in those materials. So, these report might promote the discriminatory attitude, Osaka Prefecture has questioned these company.

This company deletes data with the problematic expression according to the guidance of the prefecture confirming the fact. It submitted improvement report to the prefecture, and promissed reflection and prevention of recurrence.

Osaka Prefectural Association decided to conduct investigation of the actual condition of the discrimination against Buraku people of the entire industry in relation to the real estate including the research company and the client for the time being.

---

Unpopular because of existance of Buraku,in the preparatory research of the land development

In the discriminatory phenomenon by the marketing research company of the Osaka city, from the fact finding by the Prefectural Association, realities that lands of Buraku are discriminated as natural and excluded have come to the surface.

Emphacising Buraku and evaluating negatively

Osaka Branch

According to information that the Osaka Prefectural Association independently acquired, the report had described the trend of the entire municipal district including the planned construction site for the apartment house etc., the scheduled trend in the future, and the location characteristic, etc.

There were items of the regionality and the school district evaluation in this location characteristic, and it reported on land of the Buraku by in insulting expression like "Area that stood out the liberation center and was kept at a distance" etc.

The report showed the Buraku in the Osaka city on the map, applied the lowest evaluation among surrounding areas saying "Region (** 1-2 chome) partially with a problem", and specified the name of the Buraku emphasizing the Buraku reporting "There is old ** village, and it is made to the public housing and 'Improvement' house".

Moreover, there was a report in which the surrounding of the construction-scheduled ground was divided on the map, and each area was evaluated by ten point full marks. In that report, they describe the region including Buraku as "** area where its evaluation is lowest in districts. There is a part of problematic area, too", and suggests that it be a discriminated-against Buraku.

In the report on one city of the prefecture, the whole area of that city is analyzed and evaluated by each square.

It explained the reason as "content of the evaluation", giving a present name of a town and expressing "old ** Buraku" or describing the municipal dwelling house, the liberation centre, buddhist temple, hot spring, and funeral hall as "the items are completed" evaluating these areas lower.

In this report, "School district contrast table" is applied, and the evaluation of the area including discriminated-against Buraku is assumed to be worst, saying that "Large unpopularity".

The reputation of a unspecified Buraku was applied as "district of attention needed".

Moreover, there was a report that apply the low evaluation to the school district including a discriminated-against Buraku in a certain city , saying that "Frankly saying, Region related to Dowa issue" after having surveyed all the school districts.

Do the best to the investigation of industry as a whole

The Osaka Prefectural Association of BLL confirmed the truth from the investigator based on these facts. This company, when received request to investigate, went to the locale and it is understood to have occasionally heard about these areas from real estate agencies.

At that time, though the situation of convenience, a regional image, and the vicinity is chiefly heard, the real estate agency indirectly expresses the address of the discriminated-against Buraku "That". the investigator is said to hand the books card of 500 yen as remuneration to them.

These information was shared in the company, and Everyone in that company was able to see the report. Moreover, if there is an inquiry from the client whether one area is a discriminated-against Buraku or not, it answered, that information was used besides the report.

The investigator of this company said that "these problematic reports" is assumed to "come up to as much as 10 percent of the whole reports". But these reports are annuled with shredder after the prefectural offical made direction.

From the reports and the fact confirmation, it was clarified that land discrimination is surely exist in the real estate industry, and that these companies do not recognize this realities as discriminatory act. Osaka Prefectural Association of BLL set up the Headquarter of denunciation and decided to work on the confirmation of the truth.