Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 10, 1 October 1985 — Japan Official Talks About Native People [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Japan Official Talks About Native People

Yasuko Takemura, a member of the Japanese Diet (House of Representatives), recently visited the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. She was Japan's largest vote-getter in the December, 1983, election representing the First District of Hokkaido. Takemura was a regional newspaper columnist for the Asahi Shinbun and one of eight women in the 580-plus House of Representatives. Takemura is familiar with the need for sensitivity towards native people because she lives in the Northern part of Japan whieh is the homeland of the Ainu people. She explained through her interpreter Kazuo Saito that these people are quite different from the major population of Japan and that their culture is very like the native people of Siberia and Alaska than that of East Asia. Following her Hawaii tour, Takemura and her party also visited the mainland to leam more about American society and government.

Yasuko Takemura