Get to know: Ainu and Ryukyu languages
September 12, 2019 1:00 pm - September 12, 2019 4:00 pm
Asia and the Pacific | Japan | Tokyo | Asakusa Koukai Do
Others
Celebrating the International Year of Indigenous Languages, IMADR holds an human rights seminar on the right to languages of indigenous peoples.
According to the Atlas of the World’s Languages in
Danger of UNESCO, there are 8 endangered languages in
Japan. Among them are indigenous Ainu language and
Ryukyu languages. However, the situation of indigenous
peoples of Japan is still little known among the
Japanese society, much less of their languages. At the
seminar, we invite an Ainu language instructor and an
expert on Ryukyu languages to give the audience an
introduction to Ainu and Ryukyu languages. Also, Mr.
Alexey Tsykarev, a former member of the Expert Mechanism
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, will give a keynote
speech on the importance of protecting and promoting
indigenous languages inside and outside of Japan and the
role of the UN.