Ainu

Ainu (Japanese: アイヌ), also known as the Ezo (蝦夷) in the historical Japanese texts, are an East Asian ethnic group indigenous to Japan (Hokkaidō and formerly North-Eastern Honshū) and Russia (Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Khabarovsk Krai and the Kamchatka Peninsula). Ainu (4) Official estimates place the total Ainu population of Japan at 25,000. Unofficial estimates place the total population at 200,000 or higher, as the near-total assimilation of the Ainu into Japanese society has resulted in many individuals with Ainu heritage having no knowledge of their ancestry.