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Buraku Problem Basic

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Buraku Problem Basic

Dowa District

This is the government administration term for a Buraku(1) that faces discrimination. It is officially defined as “an area the improved living, environmental, or other stability of which is impeded for some socio-historic reason” (Law for Dowa Special Measures, article 1). The administration’s projected number of districts (as of a 1993 census) was 4,533 (4,442 if the 91 districts in which the Dowa population of the district was not confirmed are subtracted). Previous surveys indicate a large change over a small period of time: 1967: 3,545 districts; 1971: 3,972 districts; 1975: 4,374 districts; and 1987: 4,603 districts.

While “Dowa District” is administrative terminology for a Buraku that faces discrimination, the two terms are not, strictly speaking, the same. That is, “Dowa District” refers only to those districts that were officially recognized by the Dowa Special Measures, and as a result there are some Buraku that historically have faced discrimination but are not Dowa Districts. These districts are referred to as “undesignated districts.” For example, the official number of Dowa Districts in Tokyo, Toyama prefecture, and Ishikawa prefecture is zero; however, according to past records, there were 20, 233, and 47 Buraku in these areas respectively (1935 survey). These three prefectures alone have a large number of undesignated districts. Furthermore, there was a distinct increase in the number of Dowa Districts from 1971 to 1987. This change reflects an increase in the consciousness of the residents of these districts and a change in the character of their communities. However, following the 1987 “Special Measures Law for National Finance in regard to Community Improvement Policies,” the government designated no new Dowa Districts.

“Undesignated District”

There are a variety of reasons accounting for the existence of undesignated districts. For example, there is, first, the government’s generally passive approach to Buraku issues; second, the strength among residents of districts of the “let sleeping dogs lie” tendency; third, the fact that some Buraku were relatively wealthy disqualified them from being designated as Dowa Districts. Apart from the small number of districts that fall under this third category, the majority of these districts have been left in extreme disrepair, not having received the benefits of the Dowa Special Measures.

There was a movement calling for the removal of Dowa designation altogether, citing the results of the Dowa Special Measures as already sufficient. However, while this movement may have a point if we look only at the living and environmental standards in these districts, there is another opinion that stresses that discrimination is a matter of social relations: if discrimination still continues, then the end of the special measures is both premature and problematic.

“Conditions of Dowa Districts”

The following is the result of a 1993 survey. There are 4,533 Dowa Districts nation-wide. There is a large bias in the distribution of these districts. There are no official Dowa Districts in Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Tokyo, Toyama, Ishikawa, and Okinawa. Fukuoka is the prefecture with the largest number of districts, at 606; Hiroshima is second with 472; and Ehime third with 457. On the other hand, Nagasaki, Yamanashi, Fukui, and Aichi barely reach 10 districts each. In terms of Dowa District population, Fukuoka is the largest at 305,051 people; Nagano second at 213,819 people; and Hyogo third at 206,156. The smallest populations are Nagasaki at 2,293 people, Fukui at 2,692 people, and Yamanashi at 3,956.

The average number of households per district is 166. 10.1% of districts have less than 5 households; 14.1% have 5-9 households; 18.7% 10-19; 12.1% 20-29; 8.4% 30-39; 6.0% 40-49; 4.6% 50-59; 10.6% 60-99; 6.5% 100-159; 5.0% 160-299; 3.5% 300-999; and 0.5% of districts have 1,000 or more households. The size of Dowa Districts varies greatly depending on prefecture or area, but with Osaka at the head, the Kinki region is typified by large districts and central Japan and Chugoku/Shikoku region such as Hiroshima or Ehime are typified by relatively small districts.

Looking at the location of these districts, of the 4,533 districts in total, 1,199 (26.5%) are located in urbanized areas, 1,065 (23.5%) in limited urbanized areas, 972 (21.4%) in other areas, with 1,581 (34.9%) districts not responding (multiple answers were possible on the questions, which accounts for the non 100% total). If we consider only those Dowa Districts outside of urbanized areas, three quarters of them are in farming villages. 3,076 (67.9%) of these have been designated for agricultural development, and of this total 2,304 districts are small, with less than 49 households per district. Furthermore, 1,039 (22.9%) of these districts have been designated as depopulating. 578 (12.8%) of the districts have been designated for mountain development, with the breakdown being 265 districts in the Chugoku region, 100 in Chubu, 85 in Kinki, 78 in Shikoku, 41 in Kyushu, and 9 in Kanto. On the other hand, within the urbanized areas, 1,072 districts are residential, 186 are commercial, and 277 are industrial.

(1)The original meaning of “Buraku” is neighborhood.  It has come to euphemistically refer to neighborhoods in which Buraku people live, neighborhoods that suffer from discrimination.

References: 参考文献＝総務庁長官官房地域改善対策室『平成５年度同和地区実態把握等調査――地区概況調査報告書』(1995)／北孔介『放置された1000部落――事業未実施地域を見て』(解放出版社、1989)