Hokkaidō 150

Produced by the University of British Columbia's Centre for Japanese Research, this podcast grew out of a 2019 academic workshop examining 150 years of settler colonialism in Hokkaido. Across 11 episodes, the show features presentations and interviews from the workshop alongside standalone episodes exploring Ainu history, culture, and the impact of Japanese colonization of the northern island. Scholars from multiple countries and disciplines contribute, covering topics including Ainu women's resistance movements, international Indigenous perspectives on settler colonial history, and how the Japanese state systematically displaced Ainu communities during the Meiji era and beyond. Each episode runs about 15 to 20 minutes, making them accessible despite the academic density of the subject matter. This is history that rarely appears in English-language media about Japan. Most Japan history podcasts treat the country as a unified entity from ancient times onward, glossing over the fact that Hokkaido was effectively colonized in the 19th century and that the Ainu people experienced dispossession and cultural suppression similar to Indigenous peoples elsewhere. The podcast provides essential context for understanding Japan's relationship with its own Indigenous population. Rated 5.0 stars on Apple Podcasts, the show is a finished project rather than an ongoing series, but its content remains as relevant as ever for anyone who wants a more complete picture of modern Japanese history.