As a multiracial scholar of Ainu and Japanese heritage, mai ishihara employs autoethnography as a tool to illuminate the reality of individuals who are silenced in the dichotomy such as oppressor/oppressed or colonizer/colonized.

the reality of ongoing racism against Ainu people, the conversation focuses on how to resist cultural/theoretical consumption of the indigenous peoples and think about decolonization with the reality that does not fit into the dichotomies.

“Decolonize Futures” is a ZINE project to open up the discourse of the deep history of colonialism and the need of decolonization in Japan and East Asia for the possibilities of plural futures. They criticize the historical violence and ongoing colonialism in the society from perspectives including culture, politics, history, and academics. By doing so, they aim to create a discursive space for decolonization in Japan.

lecturer - mai:

Born in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Multi-racial person with heritage of Ainu and Kotoni Tondenhei (Japanese military settler) from Aizu. She completed her PhD. in Literature at Graduate School of Humanities and Human Sciences at Hokkaido University. Currently she is Associate Professor at Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies. Specialized in cultural anthropology and indigenous feminism. She is the author of Autoethnography of ‘Silence’: The Story of the Pain of Silent Ainu and Their Care (Sapporo: Hokkaido University Press, Dec. 2020. Winner of Ohira Memorial Prize Award.), the editor of The Encoded Indigenous people/Women/Children (Seido-sha 2022), and co-author of Ainu Ga ManazasuーHearing the Cry of Pain (Iwanami, forthcoming in 2024).

co editor of Decolonize Futures - Isao Sakai:

Born in 2001 in Tokyo, Japan. Isao Sakai is an environmental activist tackling the climate crisis from a cultural and philosophical approach through the lens of colonial history and the human-microbe relationship.

Isao is a co-founder of Fridays For Future Japan, a Japanese chapter of student strike for strike. Now, he is exploring the well-being of humans and the earth by experimenting with the relationship with microbes while studying Environmental Humanities and Peace Studies at Earlham College in Indiana, US.

co editor of Decolonize Futures - saki・sohee (she/they):

Born in 2001 in Hyogo, saki・sohee is a Zainichi Korean with the roots of Jeju Island. Like a migratory bird, they navigates life, shifting their base from Japan to Aotearoa, New Zealand and presently residing in Taiwan.Through their personal journey as a Zainichi Korean and the experiences living abroad, Sohee delves into the narratives of diaspora life and human rights. Sohee is also a graphic designer, and their graphic and layout designs aspire to question societal norms as a form of resistance against oppression while emphasizing historical and cultural narratives.