A unique museum that documents the struggles of minorities in Japan may have to close because the city government believes it does not offer children ‘hopes and dreams’
apan’s only human rights museum, Liberty Osaka, is facing closure after the loss of a large part of its funding provided by the city government.
The museum, which chronicles the struggles of Japan’s disenfranchised minorities, was founded in 1985 and since then it has welcomed over a million visitors. However, Osaka city government, led by the right-wing Mayor Toru Hashimoto, is withdrawing funding this year on the grounds that the museum displays are ‘limited to discrimination and human rights’ and fail to present children with an image of a future full of ‘hopes and dreams’.
There are more than 5,000 museums in Japan, but the Osaka Human Rights Museum is the only one that aspires to actively promote human rights and to develop a ‘humanity-rich’ culture
The founders of the museum had plenty of hopes and dreams for the future – dreams that are still being realised at Liberty Osaka where the courageous history of oppressed people and their struggles against injustice are presented. There are more than 5,000 museums in Japan, but the Osaka Human Rights Museum is the only one that aspires to actively promote human rights and to develop a ‘humanity-rich’ culture.
The permanent exhibition at the museum focuses on the struggle against discrimination faced by Japan’s ethnic minorities, which include the Burakumin*, the Ainu of Hokkaido, the Okinawan people and people of Korean descent. There are also sections covering discrimination against women, disabled people, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and the survivors of the atomic bombings (hibakusha). The museum is free to disabled people and provides barrier-free access.
It is important that these voices continue to be heard
Osaka city government’s funding is crucial to the survival of the museum, but Mayor Toru Hashimoto has other concerns. Leader of the nationalist Restoration party, he is famous for remarking last year that ‘Japan needs a dictator’ and some have started referring to his potentially dangerous ideas as ‘Hashism’.
However, as Tessa Morris-Suzuki writes in the Asia Pacific Journal, ‘Hashimoto does not speak for Japan’. In fact, Japan has the highest number of peace museums in the world and many Japanese people, like the founders of Liberty Osaka, are striving to create a fairer society by standing up against injustice. It is important that these voices continue to be heard.
The museum has launched an appeal to raise money (website in Japanese).
* Historically, Buraku people have been severely discriminated against because of their association with traditionally stigmatised occupations in Japan such as undertaking or leather tanning.
by Sarah Macdonald
