General information

Research Center for Human Rights (RCHR) is a newly reorganized facility at Osaka City University devoted to research on human rights issues. As well as following through on more than a quarter century of research efforts carried out by the former Dowa Mondai Research Institute (see below for Dowa Mondai), we have widened our focus to cover gender, ethnicity, disability and other minority/human rights issues. The former Institute was established in 1972 and was reorganized into the present body in April 2000.

Dowa Mondai (or Buraku Mondai) signifies the issues concerning a caste-like minority group unique to Japanese society. Burakumin are people whose ancestors were relegated to outcast status in the pre-modern era. Having no distinguishing physical or cultural traits, Burakumin are distinguished by their addresses in communities called Buraku (or Dowa districts), which were segregated in the pre-modern era, or by their ancestral backgrounds. Even today, Burakumin face discrimination and suffer from low socio-economic status.

Research Activities

Since 1972, when the former Institute was founded as Japan's first academic facility for research on minority issues, we have conducted many surveys on minority situations, minority communities' social changes, and people's awareness of minority/human rights issues, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. We also collect survey reports, books, materials, and other kinds of information on minorities and human rights issues, including English-language publications. Our Journal of Human Rights is published annually. Researchers and students seeking information on gender, ethnicity, castes and other minorities, as well as other human rights issues in Japan, are welcome to visit us.

Fields of Research

• Buraku Mondai Issues
• Ethnic Groups and Other Minority Issues
• Gender, Women Studies
• Handicapped Persons and Normalization
• Homeless and Transient Workers' Issues
• Diversity Management
• Bioethics
• History of Legal System and Human Rights

For more Information

URL: http://www.rchr.osaka-cu.ac.jp/dowa-e1.html
Fax: +81(0)6 6605 2035