is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the

Saru River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. The Saru River rises in the Hidaka Mountains and empties into the Pacific. It is considered sacred in traditional Ainu beliefs. The Nibutani Dam is situated on the Saru River, at Nibutani Nibutani ( ja, � ...

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, which stands at

Nibutani Nibutani ( ja, 二風谷), or Niptani ( ain, ニㇷ゚タニ), is a district in the town of Biratori in Hokkaidō, Japan. It was once known as ''Pipaushi,'' which means "a place rich in shells." The population as of 2010 was 395 people. A parti ...

in Biratori town, Saru District. Work on the dam began in 1990. It was completed in March 1997, despite objections from the local Ainu people.

Controversy

The building of the dam pitted the Japanese government against the indigenous Ainu, in a legal case filed by two Ainu landowners, Tadashi Kaizawa and

Shigeru Kayano was one of the last native speakers of the Ainu language and a leading figure in the Ainu ethnic movement in Japan. Early life Kayano was born in Nibutani village in Biratori, Hokkaidō, Japan. His family name at birth was Kaizawa, but he ...

. These two farmers of Ainu descent claimed the government had illegally seized their land in February 1989. They believed that the expropriation of their land to build dam violated their rights as Ainu for the protection of their cultural heritage because the dam construction would destroy sacred sites and ritual grounds had not been adequately considered in the forced taking of their lands. At this time, there were no indigenous rights afforded to the Ainu people, as they were not recognised as being indigenous to Japan. In a landmark decision by the Sapporo District Court, Chief Judge Kazuo Ichimiya stated that the Ainu people had established a unique culture in Hokkaido before the arrival of the Japanese and therefore had rights that should have given consideration under Article 13 of Japan's Constitution, which protects the rights of the individual, and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Since the dam was already complete, the 3-judge panel did not nullify the land seizure. However, the decision included extensive fact-finding that underscored the long history of the oppression of the Ainu people by Japan's ethnic majority, referred to as "Wajin" in the case and discussions about the case.Nibutani Dam Decision (Levin trans.)
see also Mark A. Levin
The Wajin’s Whiteness: Law and Race Privilege in Japan
Horitsu Jiho, Vol. 80, No. 2, 2008

References

Sources

Nibutani Dam Decision (Levin trans.)

* Mark A. Levin
Essential Commodities and Racial Justice: Using Constitutional Protection of Japan’s Indigenous Ainu People to Inform Understandings of the United States and Japan
New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, Vol. 33, 2001 {{Authority control Dams in Hokkaido Gravity dams Dams completed in 1997 Biratori, Hokkaido