The Japanese leader's election gambit, fueled by the power of her personality and some unlikely help from young voters consumed by “Sanamania,” appears to have paid off.
Hokkaido was only made a part of the Japanese state in the late 1800s. The young Japanese Empire specifically modeled its practices in Hokkaido off of the American settler project as part of their bid for imperial legitimacy in the eyes of Europe and to secure a huge chunk of nearby land. They eradicated the indigenous Ainu people, who today exist in extremely small numbers with an extinct language. The vast majority of the Hokkaido population are ethnic Japanese settlers/settler descended who can only trace their roots on the island to within the last 150 years.
Japan’s relationship with Hokkaido is much older than that; there were outposts on the island for centuries facilitating trade with the Ainu and some permanent colonies during the Tokugawa era. But the colonization and subjugation of the island is a modern phenomena just as settler-colonial as the US or Israel.
Hokkaido was only made a part of the Japanese state in the late 1800s. The young Japanese Empire specifically modeled its practices in Hokkaido off of the American settler project as part of their bid for imperial legitimacy in the eyes of Europe and to secure a huge chunk of nearby land. They eradicated the indigenous Ainu people, who today exist in extremely small numbers with an extinct language. The vast majority of the Hokkaido population are ethnic Japanese settlers/settler descended who can only trace their roots on the island to within the last 150 years.
Japan’s relationship with Hokkaido is much older than that; there were outposts on the island for centuries facilitating trade with the Ainu and some permanent colonies during the Tokugawa era. But the colonization and subjugation of the island is a modern phenomena just as settler-colonial as the US or Israel.