新奇事件簿 日本政府首次承认阿伊努族身份（在线收听）

The Japanese government has introduced a bill to recognize the country's ethnic Ainu minority group as an "indigenous" people. It is the first time for Japan's government to do this. It comes after decades of lobbying and campaigning by Ainu people to be recognized. The Ainu are an indigenous people of Japan originating in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, north-eastern Honshu, and islands between Japan and Russia. Their official number today is around 25,000, but many observers estimate a more accurate figure to be around 200,000. Many Ainu have been completely assimilated into Japanese society and have no knowledge of their ancestry or historical roots, traditions and culture.

日本政府提出议案认可该国阿伊努少数民族“本土”人的身份。这是日本政府首次提出该项议案。在此之前阿伊努人曾进行了几十年的游说游行要求被认可。阿伊努族是日本原住民族，起源于日本北部北海道、东北部本州岛以及日本和俄罗斯之间的岛屿。官方统计现今他们的人数约为25,000，但是很多观察家预估准确数字为200,000左右。很多阿伊努人已经完全被日本社会同化，对他们的祖先或是历史根源、传统文化毫无所知。

The Japan Today website wrote about the hardships the Ainu have faced. It said: "The Ainu people...have long suffered the effects of a policy of forced assimilation, and while discrimination has receded gradually, income and education gaps with the rest of Japan persist." Japan's government spoke about the importance of passing the new legislation. It said: "It is important to protect the honor and dignity of the Ainu people and to hand those down to the next generation to realize a vibrant society with diverse values." Ainu spokesman Tadashi Kato said: "It feels like we woke up now from a truly deep sleep....It will lead to building a society where we cohabit together. We think this is the first step."

今日日本网报道了阿伊努人所面临的艰辛。网站写道：“阿伊努人...长期遭受强迫同化政策的影响，虽然歧视已经慢慢褪去，但他们和日本其他人的收入和教育差距依旧存在。”日本政府谈到了通过这条新法的重要性。其表示：“保护阿伊努人的荣耀和尊严很重要将那些代代相传，让下一代意识到价值观多元的活跃社会，这一点也很重要。”阿伊努族发言人 Tadashi Kato说到：“似乎我们现在从沉睡中醒来...它将带领我们建设一个可以共同生活的社会。我们认为这是第一步。”