Photo/Illutration The listing of a “family register ledger” of the Ainu people has been removed from the Yahoo Auctions site. (Tetsuaki Otaki)

An item listed as an Ainu “family register ledger” was sold on Yahoo Auctions, drawing outrage from members of the indigenous community, who fear it could fuel discrimination.

The auction site featured six photos of the document, some of which showed the title on the cover: “Copy of Kyu-dojin Family Register, Hoei Elementary School.”

Inside, handwritten entries in blue ink listed what appeared to be the names, gender and birthdates of pupils at the school, along with their parents’ names.

The school was located in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, near an Ainu settlement.

The item was sold on Dec. 7 for 63,000 yen ($400).

LY Corp., which operates the site, said it removed the listing on Dec. 9 for violating guidelines on personal information.

“Kyu-dojin,” which literally means “former natives,” was a term established by the Hokkaido Development Commission in 1878 for the Ainu people, who live primarily in Hokkaido.

The Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Law, aimed at assimilating the Ainu into Japanese society, was not repealed until 1997.

During the period, the Ainu suffered discrimination from the “Wajin” ethnic Japanese majority, who viewed Ainu culture as inferior.

According to lawyer Morihiro Ichikawa, an expert on Ainu rights, the law’s regulations mandated the establishment of “kyu-dojin schools,” and Ainu children began attending Hoei Elementary School.

“It appears that family registers were collected from parents to compile the ledger to distinguish between Wajin and Ainu,” he said.

Ichikawa said the document was likely produced before World War II, citing a photo that included the name of a person born in 1877.

Fumio Kimura, who leads the group called Ainu Neno An Ainu no Kai, described the sale of the roster as “horrifying and infuriating.”

“What is so disturbing is not knowing whose hands it will fall into or how it will be used,” Kimura said. “Just like (Ainu) ancestral remains, it should never be used without consent even if it is for research purposes.”

Hisae Kawamura, chair of the Asahikawa Ainu Council, also expressed anger, saying, “Ainu human rights are being ignored.”

Ichikawa said the sale of the document could constitute an invasion of privacy.

“Even if the information belongs to people who have already died, it still infringes on the privacy of their descendants,” he said.

Ichikawa added that LY could be considered complicit in an unlawful act under civil law, potentially amounting to “joint tort liability.”

The auction site operator told The Asahi Shimbun that it became aware of the transaction after being contacted for comment.

It said the document may already be in the hands of the successful bidder.

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