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Paper short abstract

This paper examines how Japan’s 2019 Act for the Promotion of the Ainu Culture influences the protection of indigenous intangible cultural heritage in the age of copyright and cultural commodification, analysing tensions between intellectual property law, heritage governance and indigenous autonomy.

Paper long abstract

The purpose of this text is to explore the legal and ethical tensions surrounding the protection of indigenous intangible cultural heritage in Japan, focusing on the Ainu and the practical implications of the 2019 Ainu Policy Promotion Act. On the one hand, the Act officially acknowledges the Ainu are indigenous peoples of Japan, but on the other - it is argued within academics that it rather prioritises products of their culture. In this sense, the subject of protection is a collection of promotable cultural expressions rather than a whole living system of knowledge related to language, ritual, land, and communal practice, and Ainu (a ‘human being’). It analyses the state of intellectual property protection for Ainu cultural expressions within (and around) the 2019 Ainu Act and Japanese legislation on IP. It examines the Act’s structure and provisions to later elaborate on how these mechanisms position Ainu culture within existing property regimes. The next step would be mapping accessible IP tools, such as copyright, design and trademark protection, and briefly covering supplementary areas (unfair competition, consumer protection) which are in practice available (or unavailable) for Ainu communities. Its purpose is to highlight how these tools often fail to align with collective creation, intergenerational transmission, customary norms, and the sacred or non-commercial dimensions of cultural practices. It is especially important in times of globalization and consumerism, when final products of cultural expressions, ranging from dance, music, and craft patterns, receive special attention and are promoted through tourism and state-sponsored institutions. Without sufficient legal protections or community control such practices often lead to many risks, especially when they might separate original from promoted meanings and commodify cultural expressions. Thus, this text is meant to deepen our understanding of how law can both protect and restrict indigenous cultures in modern Japan by examining Japanese indigenous policy in relation to global discussions on cultural heritage law.