Episode 72: Preserving the endangered Ainu language

The Ainu language has been declared critically endangered by UNESCO, with few people left alive today who speak it.

The Ainu are Japan's indigenous population and Japan Times contributor Mara Budgen has been meeting with them to better understand their remaining culture, the difficulties they face, and to learn about the ongoing efforts to preserve their language.

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Read more:

• The Ainu language and the global movement for indigenous rights (Mara Budgen and Francesco Bassetti, The Japan Times)
• Japan's Ainu recognition bill: What does it mean for Hokkaido's indigenous people? (Sakura Murakami, The Japan Times)
• Japan enacts law recognizing Ainu as indigenous, but activists say it falls short of U.N. declaration (The Japan Times)
• Kaneto Kawamura Ainu Museum (Lonely Planet)
• New Ainu culture complex generating little buzz outside Hokkaido (The Japan Times)

On this episode:

Mara Budgen: Twitter | Website

Oscar Boyd: Twitter | Articles | Instagram

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