June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese lawmakers passed a resolution in parliament today to recognize the Ainu people as indigenous to Japan and urge an end to discrimination against the group who mostly live in Hokkaido.

The non-binding resolution was submitted by both ruling and opposition parties and comes just a month ahead of this year's Group of Eight summit to be held in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's main islands.

Japan's Meiji Government included Hokkaido as part of Japan more than a century ago, forcing the Ainu people to become Japanese citizens. In 1869, a development commission was established that outlawed the Ainu language and took away Ainu land as well as hunting and fishing rights.

``There is no better time than now to push the resolution,'' said Hiroshi Imazu, a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, before the passage. ``Once we recognize them as indigenous people, experts can move on to discuss their rights and demands.''

In September last year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with Japan among 144 member states voting in favor. So far, the Japanese government has not officially recognized any ethnic group as indigenous to Japan.

The word Ainu means ``human'' in the Ainu language and the first historical materials to mention them dates from around the 15th century, according to the government-sponsored Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture. The Ainu primarily made their livelihood by fishing, hunting and plant gathering, and also traded with people in other areas, the foundation said in a research paper.

``I want the government to have the courage to admit that the Ainu are indigenous to Japan,'' Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, said in an interview. ``Expert studies clearly show they were in the Hokkaido area before us and co-existed with nature. There is much to learn from their lifestyle.''

Last month, an Ainu group in the Tokyo area submitted a petition to the government agencies with signatures from 6,419 individuals and 180 organizations that urged Japan to recognize them as an indigenous people.

``What I want from the government most is for it to accept its political responsibility for what they have done to us and apologize,'' said Osamu Hasegawa, a 60-year-old Ainu who leads the group.

The Hokkaido government's survey says 23,782 Ainu live on the island, though Ainu themselves say their numbers are larger, arguing many hide their identity because of discrimination or have left Hokkaido.

Numbers

According to a 2006 survey conducted in Hokkaido municipalities where the minority resides, 38.3 Ainu out of 1,000 were on social welfare, while the figure was 24.6 for the rest of the population. Only 17.4 percent of Ainu went to college compared with the local average of 38.5 percent.

It took years for Mina Sakai, 25-year-old leader of the Tokyo-based performance group the Ainu Rebels, to make peace with who she was.

``While growing up in Hokkaido, I tried to hide my identity,'' Sakai said in an interview. ``I went to visit the indigenous people in Canada when I was a high school student. It was my turning point. I was shocked to see how proud they were of their culture and tradition. Now, I say proudly that I am Ainu.''

She will participate in the 2008 Indigenous Peoples Summit in Hokkaido starting on July 1, one week before the G-8 meeting.

``The Ainu people have such a strong environmental backbone,'' said C.W. Nicol, an environmentalist and writer living in rural Japan. ``Recognizing them as indigenous people does nothing but enrich Japan. It took Japan too long, but it's better than never.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Hideko Takayama in Tokyo at htakayama10@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 6, 2008 00:17 EDT