Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Minority Issues: Conflict Prevention and the Protection of the Human Rights of Minorities (7-8 September, Online)

Human rights are under threat all over the world, and Japan is no exception.  The following panels offer a glimpse into the realities of racial discrimination and the ongoing struggle for justice in Japanese society. (*For more details, please click each panel.) *Sayama Case refers to the false conviction of Kazuo Ishikawa, then 24 years old, for the murder of a high school girl in 1963. It was fabricated by the police believing that Burak people can do it. Further information about the rally in the centre of Tokyo in May 2025 can be found here. * One of the key factors behind this impunity is the Status of Forces […]

On 25 January, the Forum of Minority Women* organised an event in Osaka to reflect on and share insights from the recent review of the 9th periodic report of Japan by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). A total of 120 people participated, both in person and online. ◾︎ CEDAW and Women from Marginalised Communities in Japan ◾︎ Firstly, how women from marginalised communities have made their presence and situation visible through their involvement in CEDAW was shared. In 1985, Japan ratified Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In 2003 (the consideration of the fourth and fifth periodic reports), for the […]

Although the word, gender equality, is heard more frequently than ever, true gender equality will be realised solely when it is for ‘ALL’ women because women cannot be summed up to one as people have multiple identities. It is minority women whose voices are more silenced and whose rights are more restricted.. Yet, ‘minority women’ are not reducible to one too. Within the ‘minority women’, there is diversity and difference. In the interview series “Intersectional Feminism”, we have a conversation with activists of minority women about their experiences, activities, awareness, and so forth. This series features voices of women of minority groups to comprehend the extent of inequalities, how their […]

14 February 2022 JOINT NGO STATEMENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH SRI LANKAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AMBIKA SATKUNANATHAN We the undersigned human rights organizations, express our deep concern about the statement issued by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry on February 4, 2022, in which the government denounced testimony given by Ambika Satkunanathan, a leading human rights lawyer, to the European Parliament on January 27. The government statement clearly constitutes an act of harassment and intimidation. We condemn the Sri Lankan government’s tactics to intimidate human rights defenders, and express our full solidarity with Ms. Satkunanathan, a well-known, respected and courageous human rights defender. Targeting her for providing accurate testimony about the human […]