There are actually three types of people discriminated against in Japan's permanent underclass: the Ainu, the Burakumin and Koreans. The Ainu were the indigenous people of the island of Hokkaido who were dominated for centuries by the Japanese. They were officially declared no longer indigenous in 1899, and their land subsumed into greater Japan. Many have assimilated, but thousands remain in ghettos on the outskirts of Hokkaido's cities. (indypendent.org)
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