"An Ainu woman in traditional headdress casts her vote in the general elections of April 1946 at an elementary school in Shiraoi Village, southern Hokkaido. Occupation reforms raised the hopes of Ainu for greater equality but failed to actively defend minority rights or address the problem of ethnic discrimination (Kyodo)."

From: Takemae Eiji. Inside GHQ: The Allied Occupation of Japan and its Legacy. New York: Continuum, 2002; 439.