E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2
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offices at the municipal level since around 20,000 cases are currently submitted yearly to
the Ministry of Justice which concern human rights violations all around the country.
Moreover, there should be no Japanese nationality clause to become investigator of this
commission, as such a clause would be discriminatory. It is also recommended that the
Government establish an appropriate administrative function that specifically deals the
problem of discrimination, including Buraku discrimination.
80.
The commission on equality and human rights should as a matter of urgency draft,
in close consultation with the minorities concerned, and then submit to the Government a
national plan of action to fight against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The
national plan of action should be based on the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action.
81.
The system put in place by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice
urging citizens to report suspected illegal migrants anonymously on its website is an
incitement to racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia: it is essentially based on the
criminalization of foreigners and promotes a climate of suspicion and rejection towards
foreigners. This reporting system should therefore be abolished without delay.
82.
The Government should revise history textbooks in order to better reflect, with
objectivity and accuracy, the history of minorities and the relations with neighbouring
countries. The Special Rapporteur noticed with concern that the parts of the history books
dedicated to the history of the Buraku people, the Ainu, the people of Okinawa, the
Koreans and the Chinese have been particularly reduced, and therefore urges the
Government to proceed to the revision of such textbooks in order to include a detailed
section on the history and culture of these groups, in the perspective of the long memory of
history, the relations and interactions with the people and communities concerned, and the
origins and reasons of the discrimination to which they were subjected. Their important
contribution to the construction of the Japanese identity should also be highlighted.
Textbooks should also include explanations of the crimes linked to the colonial era and
wartime committed by Japan, including a recognition of it responsibility, and for the
establishment of the “comfort women” system. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that
decisions on the content of the school textbooks can be taken locally without any capacity of
control at the national level. He therefore recommends the adoption of a legal provision at
the national level which guarantees that the above-mentioned minimum content
requirements be included in school textbooks. Moreover, given the fundamental impact of
the drafting and teaching of history in the actual and future relations between the countries
of the region, the Special Rapporteur recommends that, in the spirit and the scientific
methodology of the drafting by UNESCO of the regional histories of Africa, Latin America,
the Caribbean countries and Central Asia, Japan in consultation and with the agreement of
all the countries of the region invite UNESCO to start the process of drafting the general
history of the region.
83.
The Government should consult with minority groups on policies and legislation to
be adopted that concern them.
84.
The Government is invited to launch a programme of promotion on the culture of
discriminated groups: for example, the contribution Buraku work and knowledge gave to
society should be recognized and valued, and Buraku cultural specificities disseminated, in