TODAY'S NEWS SUBJECT OF JAPAN'S CASTE SYSTEM CAME TO LIGHT BECAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING NEWS: -    An employee at a large, well-known Japanese company, who works in personnel and has direct knowledge of its hiring practices, said the company actively screens out burakumin job seekers. -   "If we suspect that an applicant is a burakumin, we always do a background check to find out," she said. She agreed to discuss the practice only on condition that neither she nor her company be identified. -   Castes have long since been abolished, and the old buraku villages have largely faded away or been swallowed by Japan's sprawling metropolises. -    Today, rights groups say the descendants of burakumin make up about 3 million of the country's 127 million people. -     But they still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived. Moving is little help, because employers or parents of potential spouses can hire agencies to check for buraku ancestry through Japan's elaborate family records, which can span back over a hundred years. PVAF is publishing this news story with supplemental universal and True Knowledge of vED with a prayer that the knowledge not to hurt another human is empower all humanity have a happier tomorrow than today simple because of TRUE KNOWLEDGE.... (If YOU wish to learn more about the subject of this news posting and/or wish to discuss the above please use the POST A COMMENT button in the header of this news posting and/or write an email to PVAF by clicking here...)  Photographer Masaru Goto has an interesting series of portraits up at Global Compassion that show every day Burakumin, an ethnically Japanese group of people descended from the untouchables of the feudal Japanese caste system. Even today, the Burakumin face discrimination – they live in segregated districts that are often neglected by city governments, and the general public still negatively stereotypes them as poor and backwards. Masaru is a highly regarded Japanese photographer known for his compassionate documentary work “highlighting the plight and resilience of ordinary people caught in conflicts, suffering under oppression, or economically disadvantaged.” For example, this is Yoshinobu Nakajima who is a person of freedom: “I’ve been working really hard until last year. I’m 61 now. Since retirement, I’ve been to Thailand and Okinawa and Hokkaido — by bicycle! And there are so many chances to meet people. It also makes me happy when acquaintances from my travels come to visit me. I guess this is what I can do to let people know about Buraku. For example, we bake bread and pizza in a stone oven together. Having fun with many young people makes me feel young, too. We meet and we reunite and we stay connected. This will be my lifestyle until the day I die.” (From East Asian Inspiration website) Caste in Japan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Main articles: Feudal Japan hierarchy and Burakumin Two main castes in Japan were Samurai warrior castes and peasants. Only the samurai caste was allowed to bear arms. A samurai had a right to kill any peasant who he felt was disrespectful. Japan historically subscribed to a feudal caste system. While modern law has officially abolished the caste hierarchy, there are reports of discrimination against the Buraku or Burakumin undercastes, historically referred to by the insulting term Eta.[43] Studies comparing the caste systems in India and Japan have been performed, with similar discriminations against the Burakumin as the Dalits. The Burakumin are regarded as "ostracised."[44] The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaido and residents of Korean and Chinese descent. Castes are systems of occupation, endogamy, social culture, social class, and political power, the assignment of individuals to places in the social hierarchy is determined by social group and cultural heritage. Although India is often now associated with the word "caste", it was first used by the Portuguese to describe inherited class status in their own European society. Discrimination based on caste is prevalent mainly in parts of Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Japan) and Africa. UNICEF estimates that discrimination based on caste affects 250 million people worldwide.[1] English caste is from Latin castes "pure, cut off, segregated", the participle of career "to cut off" (whence also castration). Application to Hindu social groups originates in the 17th century, via Portuguese caste "breed, race, caste"......   vEDik TAKE ON THE CASTE SYSTEM (contributed by Champaklal Dajibhai Mistry of Edmonton, Toronto, Ontario from his vED study and vED library...) -   The word for "Caste System" in sNskRUt language vED texts is vARAN....the entire corpus of sNskRUt language vED texts is complete universal sciences and universal laws to create, sustain and cyclically recreate life (animate and inanimate) of infinite diversity with empowerment to co-exist harmoniously or non-harmoniously.... -    At the start of creation of the each of the infinite number of universes...humanity has only one vARN, that of bRaaH`maaAN is created...and after that 3 more vARAN (kSHTRiy, vaish`y and shuDR) in humanity are created based on vARN-DHARm meaning the specific acquisition of knowledge, labour and lifestyle with predominance of 3-guno (st`v, rjs and tms) to live the  lifestyle designed for each vARN in each human travelling a life-journey...This vARN-DHARm empowers each human to have an appropriate body and lifestyle to receive one's kARm-fl which is maturing for partaking in that life-journey.... -  vED states that everyone when born is shuDR and can attain any vARAN through attainment of vED life-travel knowledge that is defined for each vARAN...one can even have mobility between vARAN as defined under DHARm whose universal life-sciences creates, operates and sustains life...   -   All 4-vARAN is necessary for life to operate holistically ....and therefore there is no hierarchy of superiority/inferiority over one another....the present superiority/inferiority notion among vARAN is the human construct because of lack of knowledge of DHARm whose universal life-sciences creates, operates and sustains life....The current 500-year old still evolving sciences are just a fraction of DHARm..... -  Intermarriages among 4-vARAN creates a fifth set of human classification called vARAN-shNkr...DHARm defines the role of the 5th division for existing by itself and in co-existence with the 4-vARAN..... -  As per vEDik time concept of cyclic creation sciences the humanity for the last 5110 years and counting is living in kli-yug...In kli-yug only 2 vARAN are carried over from the previous D'vaapr-yug - bRaaH`mAN and suDR...because kSHTRiy and vaish`y vARAN disappear during the 36,000 year transition period between D'vaapr-yug and kli-yug...As kli-yug progresses to its end of 432,000 year span, suDR vARAN will continue to act the roles of all the 3 other vARAN but without the knowledge of each of the 3 vARAN-DHARm...... -   The fundamental human discrimination all types that creates human conflicts among the entire humanity with the various extent "caste system" each race-state-nation-religion has is the result of lack of knowledge of DHARm and also lack of knowledge of lifestyle that is designed for kli-yug.....you can get a quick primer by reading about the current "caste system" on this planet earth on Wikipedia by clicking here to understand the above in the current time context....and finally.... - And every shade of humanity has a universal cliché : KNOWLEDGE IS POWER...AND KNOWLEDGE WILL SET YOU FREE....but in kli-yug, during an entire life-journey, the focus of humanity is to secure wealth at any cost and with or without knowledge and DHARm....          (If YOU wish to learn more about the above and/or wish to discuss the above please use the POST A COMMENT button in the header of this news posting and/or write an email to PVAF by clicking here...)  Now to read today's news story about Japan's the human rights of the descendants of "burakumin" who are at the bottom of the Japan's social class order and who make up about 3 million of the country's 127 million people....please click on the next line to go to the next page....

In this computer screen image taken from the Google Earth software, a feudal map of a village in central Japan from hundreds of years ago, superimposed on a modern street map, is shown. The village is clearly labeled "eta," an old word for Japan's outclass of untouchables known as "burakumin." The word literally means "filthy mass" and is now considered to be a racial slur. The burakumin still face prejudice based on where they live or their ancestors lived, and fear that Google's software can be used to easily pinpoint the old villages and match them up with modern neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Google Earth) Old Japanese maps on Google Earth unveil secrets of continuing practice of legally abolished caste system in Japan.... Google News: May 2, 2009: Associated Press:  By Jay Alabaster TOKYO (AP) — When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems. But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received, as it has often done in Japan. The company is now facing inquiries from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste communities. The maps date back to the country's feudal era, when shoguns ruled and a strict caste system was in place. At the bottom of the hierarchy were a class called the "burakumin," ethnically identical to other Japanese but forced to live in isolation because they did jobs associated with death, such as working with leather, butchering animals and digging graves. Castes have long since been abolished, and the old buraku villages have largely faded away or been swallowed by Japan's sprawling metropolises. Today, rights groups say the descendants of burakumin make up about 3 million of the country's 127 million people. But they still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived. Moving is little help, because employers or parents of potential spouses can hire agencies to check for buraku ancestry through Japan's elaborate family records, which can span back over a hundred years. An employee at a large, well-known Japanese company, who works in personnel and has direct knowledge of its hiring practices, said the company actively screens out burakumin job seekers. "If we suspect that an applicant is a burakumin, we always do a background check to find out," she said. She agreed to discuss the practice only on condition that neither she nor her company be identified. Lists of "dirty" addresses circulate on Internet bulletin boards. Some surveys have shown that such neighborhoods have lower property values than surrounding areas, and residents have been the target of racial taunts and graffiti. But the modern locations of the old villages are largely unknown to the general public, and many burakumin prefer it that way. Google Earth's maps pinpointed several such areas. One village in Tokyo was clearly labeled "eta," a now strongly derogatory word for burakumin that literally means "filthy mass." A single click showed the streets and buildings that are currently in the same area. Google posted the maps as one of many "layers" available via its mapping software, each of which can be easily matched up with modern satellite imagery. The company provided no explanation or historical context, as is common practice in Japan. Its basic stance is that its actions are acceptable because they are legal, one that has angered burakumin leaders. "If there is an incident because of these maps, and Google is just going to say 'it's not our fault' or 'it's down to the user,' then we have no choice but to conclude that Google's system itself is a form of prejudice," said Toru Matsuoka, a member of Japan's upper house of parliament. Asked about its stance on the issue, Google responded with a formal statement that "we deeply care about human rights and have no intention to violate them." Google spokesman Yoshito Funabashi points out that the company doesn't own the maps in question, it simply provides them to users. Critics argue they come packaged in its software, and the distinction is not immediately clear. Printing such maps is legal in Japan. But it is an area where publishers and museums tread carefully, as the burakumin leadership is highly organized and has offices throughout the country. Public showings or publications are nearly always accompanied by a historical explanation, a step Google failed to take. Matsuoka, whose Osaka office borders one of the areas shown, also serves as secretary general of the Buraku Liberation League, Japan's largest such group. After discovering the maps last month, he raised the issue to Justice Minister Eisuke Mori at a public legal affairs meeting on March 17. Two weeks later, after the public comments and at least one reporter contacted Google, the old Japanese maps were suddenly changed, wiped clean of any references to the buraku villages. There was no note made of the changes, and they were seen by some as an attempt to quietly dodge the issue. "This is like saying those people didn't exist. There are people for whom this is their hometown, who are still living there now," said Takashi Uchino from the Buraku Liberation League headquarters in Tokyo. The Justice Ministry is now "gathering information" on the matter, but has yet to reach any kind of conclusion, according to ministry official Hideyuki Yamaguchi. The League also sent a letter to Google, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press. It wants a meeting to discuss its knowledge of the buraku issue and position on the use of its services for discrimination. It says Google should "be aware of and responsible for providing a service that can easily be used as a tool for discrimination." Google has misjudged public sentiment before. After cool responses to privacy issues raised about its Street View feature, which shows ground-level pictures of Tokyo neighborhoods taken without warning or permission, the company has faced strong public criticism and government hearings. It has also had to negotiate with Japanese companies angry over their copyrighted materials uploaded to its YouTube property. An Internet legal expert said Google is quick to take advantage of its new technologies to expand its advertising network, but society often pays the price. "This is a classic example of Google outsourcing the risk and appropriating the benefit of their investment," said David Vaile, executive director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Center at the University of New South Wales in Australia. The maps in question are part of a larger collection of Japanese maps owned by the University of California at Berkeley. Their digital versions are overseen by David Rumsey, a collector in the U.S. who has more than 100,000 historical maps of his own. He hosts more than 1,000 historical Japanese maps as part of a massive, English-language online archive he runs, and says he has never had a complaint. It was Rumsey who worked with Google to post the maps in its software, and who was responsible for removing the references to the buraku villages. He said he preferred to leave them untouched as historical documents, but decided to change them after the search company told him of the complaints from Tokyo. "We tend to think of maps as factual, like a satellite picture, but maps are never neutral, they always have a certain point of view," he said. Rumsey said he'd be willing to restore the maps to their original state in Google Earth. Matsuoka, the lawmaker, said he is open to a discussion of the issue. A neighborhood in central Tokyo, a few blocks from the touristy Asakusa area and the city's oldest temple, was labeled as an old "eta" village in the maps. It is indistinguishable from countless other Tokyo communities, except for a large number of leather businesses offering handmade bags, shoes and furniture. When shown printouts of the maps from Google Earth, several older residents declined to comment. Younger people were more open on the subject. Wakana Kondo, 27, recently started working in the neighborhood, at a new business that sells leather for sofas. She was surprised when she learned the history of the area, but said it didn't bother her. "I learned about the burakumin in school, but it was always something abstract," she said. "That's a really interesting bit of history, thank you." Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

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