Ainu

Since the Japanese language was imposed on the Ainu, who may be Japan’s most ancient people, for the last 300 years, their native language has faced serious threat of dying out. Although there are about 30,000 Ainu people today, the number of speakers of this tongue is estimated to be less than 100. Along with Okinawan and Yaeyama, UNESCO’S language project lists five other Japanese languages as severely endangered.