International Workshop and Symposium of Young Scholars Working on "Present Day Buraku Issues"
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FOREWORDTERAKI Nobuaki |
| Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute (BLHRRI) was founded in August 1968 with the support of Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, the Osaka Association of Buraku Liberation League, and others. Since its foundation, BLHRRI has conducted surveys and research on Buraku issues from various aspects of history, social science, economy, legislation, culture, education and civil campaigns, aiming to be of help in eliminating all forms of discrimination including Buraku discrimination and realizing a society with fully established human rights. Through our involvement in the civil campaign calling for Japan’s ratification of International Covenants on Human Rights in the late 1970’s and the following ratification by Japan, we became to believe that international human rights standards also support the need for a solution to the Buraku discrimination issue, and January 1981, the “Buraku Liberation News” was created by BLHRRI. Through the publication of our newsletter, the Buraku discrimination issue has gradually been recognized by researchers and civil organizations around the world, and we have constantly disseminated reports of studies and researches prepared by domestic researchers and other information regarding Buraku issues via our newsletter.
In doing so, we have promoted active exchanges of research and information with researchers and institutes abroad, and Buraku issues have gained wide international recognition as a grave human rights problem that needs to be solved. Thanks also to the operation of our website, there are now more than a few researchers and students abroad who are interested in Buraku issues. It is also not unusual that we receive inquiries with specific questions about Buraku issues from college students or researchers of various countries. Under these circumstances, we are very pleased to have the opportunity to start networking among young researchers from abroad and Japan who are researching Buraku issues in different disciplines and from various perspectives. To begin with, we have organized two days' workshop followed by the symposium on the next day with participation of 12 researchers. We are very honored to share achievements and outcomes of the workshop and symposium with you, especially at the memorial moment when BLHRRI celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. In conclusion, we would like to thank the Commemorative Organization for the Japan World Exposition ('70), Osaka Prefectural Association of Buraku Liberation League and many other related organizations and individuals for their support to our these initiatives. November, 2008 |
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