A Japanese court on Thursday rejected a demand by a group of Ainu indigenous people in northern Japan to be recognized as exempt from a ban on commercial salmon fishing in a river, arguing they had inherited this right from their ancestors. The Sapporo District Court handed down the ruling involving the Raporo Ainu Nation, which includes descendants of Ainu communities who began residing around the river in Urahoro, Hokkaido, centuries ago. This lawsuit marked the first instance where the Ainu people sought recognition of their indigenous rights from both the central and Hokkaido governments. …