The Buraku people, or Burakumin ("village people"), are a group of approximately three million people. Popularly labeled the “invisible race,” the Burakumin are one of the largest cultural minorities in contemporary Japan. Although culturally, linguistically, ethnically and racially indistinguishable from other Japanese, the Burakumin have been a product of religious and social beliefs since the beginning of the Tokugawa era in 1603. They therefore share the same language, religion, customs and physical appearance with other Japanese . . However, the Burakumin are economically, socially, and culturally inferior to other cultures in the class system. Burakumin are discriminated against based on beliefs about their ancestry. Discrimination against the Burakumin has been constructed by political, ideological and social forces since the Tokugawa period. This discrimination is evident through higher sickness rates and higher unemployment than traditional Japanese, lower wages for the same jobs, the existence of illegal blacklists that companies purchase and use to avoid hiring Buraku people, and the discouragement of marriage between Burakumin and non-Burakumin. The Eta and Hinin cultural groups are believed to be the precursors of what became the Burakumin. Burakumin, being a former Eta and Hinin, were two main categories of outcastes during the Tokugawa era and were placed in the lowest caste or caste of "nonhumans/people full of impurities" when the Tokugawa decided to establish a stratified social order. The social stigma groups (Eta and Hinin) emerged with the Shinto and Buddhist beliefs that all work associated with death defiles the spirit, these two groups were eventually merged under the law for appropriate regulations and f.... .. half of the document … has fueled some form of prejudice, which in some areas reaches almost 40%. Unfortunately, in Japan, without a formal law from the government to prosecute those who discriminate, the decision is left to other social forces within society. In the short term, it would appear that the average Burakumin has little hope of achieving equality in the future. There is no attempt to assess how and where the Burakumin "fit into society" and the Burakumin are conspicuously excluded from social culture and heritage as their position and "circumstances are not conveyed to the rest of society". Unable to come to terms with their own identity, Burakumin often blame themselves for their situations. It is clear therefore that the existing structures that the majority are faced with are so distorted and limiting that they can only serve to further alienate, isolate and stigmatize the Burakumin..