PRIME International Symposium What Are Minority Rights? Toward a Multiethnic Society Free from Discrimination

In recent years, exclusionary movements targeting minorities—including migrants, refugees, people with foreign roots, and Indigenous peoples—have spread across the world. In Japan as well, discriminatory rhetoric invoking notions such as “special privileges for Zainichi Koreans” or “special privileges for the Ainu” continues to fuel prejudice and hatred.

Published in 2024, Minority Rights: The Formation of International Standards and Challenges for Japan examines how the concept of “minority rights” emerged and developed as an international norm, and explores the extent to which Japan has embraced—or failed to embrace—this concept. The volume seeks to counter the growing influence of xenophobia and to advance genuine multicultural and multiethnic coexistence.

This symposium brings together the editors and contributors to the volume, the translator responsible for the Korean edition, and scholars working in related fields to discuss the significance, possibilities, and future scope of minority rights.

Date and Time　　：　Saturday, February 21, 14:00–18:00

Venue　　：　Conference Hall, 10th Floor, Main Building Meiji Gakuin University, Shirokane Campus

Admission　：　Free

Registration：　Not required

Language：　Japanese (English interpretation available)

Speaker：

Masataka Okamoto (Fukuoka Prefectural University)

Hideaki Uemura (Member of the House of Representatives)

Gunae Park Hurights Osaka (Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center)

Wooki Pak Kim (Human Rights Association of Korean Residents in Japan)

Yonggu Park (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Translator and Editor of the Korean Edition of Minority Rights)

Discussants：

Kumiko Noguchi (Faculty of International Studies, Meiji Gakuin University; Research Fellow, PRIME)

and others

Moderator：

Younghwan Chong (Center for Liberal Arts, Meiji Gakuin University; Chief Research Fellow, PRIME)

Organizer：　PRIME (International Peace Research Institute), Meiji Gakuin University

For members of the press wishing to cover this event, please contact the organizer in advance using the contact information below.