E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2 page 6 The people of Okinawa 6. The “Ryukyu Kingdom”, maintained by the Okinawa people from the fourteenth century, was conquered by the Government of Japan and annexed in 1879. This produced various colonialist and assimilative policies, such as the prohibition of Ryukyu dialects, traditional customs, religious faith and lifestyle. Since 1972, the majority of the United States bases in Japan have been concentrated in Okinawa, which covers only 0.6 per cent of Japanese territory, affecting the environment, indigenous culture and custom of the Okinawa people. The caste-like class system 7. During the feudal era of the Edo (1603-1867), a caste-like class system based on social and professional belonging was established. The humble people (senmin) were assigned such duties as disposing of dead cattle, leather production, being executioners and performers. Placed at the bottom of the system, they were designated as eta (extreme filth) and hinin (non-humans). In the late nineteenth century, the system was abolished, but a new class system was established, which again placed the most humble class (the Buraku, from the name of their district) at the bottom of the system. In the 1960s, following the claims of the Buraku Liberation League (BLL), the Government recognized the deep discrimination suffered by the Buraku people and adopted special measures to improve their living conditions. The colonial past 8. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, which became a Japanese province. Koreans were considered as inferiors and could only work in subaltern jobs, while the decision-making jobs were taken by the Japanese. Korea was forced into a strict colonial rule: liberties were suppressed, the use of the Korean language discouraged and then totally forbidden in 1940. During the Second World War, the Koreans were obliged to participate to the efforts of war: in 1945, 4 million Koreans in the peninsula and 2 million in Japan were subjected to forced labour. Following the end of the war and the independence and separation of the two Koreas after 40 years of Japanese rule, a large community of Koreans continues to live in Japan. C. The legal system 9. Japan is party to six of the seven major international human rights instruments, including both the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). It has not ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 10. Legislative efforts were made in order to promote certain rights of some minorities. A series of laws for the elimination of discrimination against the Buraku were adopted in 1969, but terminated in 2002. In 1997, a law for the promotion of the Ainu culture was adopted, and, in 2002, a law on human rights education. 11. The only provision in national legislation which prohibits racial discrimination is article 14 of the Constitution, but its provisions are not considered by courts to be self-executing.