because of the broad implications for Ainu rights, the plaintiffs decided not to appeal the decision, which became final two weeks later. After the decision was issued, on 8 May 1997, the Diet passed the Ainu Culture Law and repealed the Ainu Protection Act—the 1899 law that had been the vehicle of Ainu oppression for almost one hundred years. While the Ainu Culture Law has been widely criticized for its shortcomings, the shift that it represents in Japan's view of the Ainu people is a testament to the importance of the Nibutani decision. In 2007 the 'Cultural Landscape along the Sarugawa River resulting from Ainu Tradition and Modern Settlement' was designated an Important Cultural Landscape of Japan. A later action seeking restoration of Ainu assets held in trust by the Japanese Government was dismissed in 2008. Governmental bodies on Ainu affairs There is no single government body to coordinate Ainu affairs, rather, various advisory boards are set up by the Hokkaido government to advise specific matters. One such committee operated in the late 1990s, and its work resulted in the . This panel's circumstances were criticized for including not even a single Ainu person among its members. More recently, a panel was established in 2006, which notably was the first time an Ainu person was included. It completed its work in 2008 issuing a major report that included an extensive historical record and called for substantial government policy changes towards the Ainu. Formation of Ainu political party The was founded on 21 January 2012, after a group of Ainu activists in Hokkaidō announced the formation of a political party for the Ainu on 30 October 2011. The Ainu Association of Hokkaidō reported that Kayano Shiro, the son of the former Ainu leader Kayano Shigeru, will head the party. Their aim is to contribute to the realization of a multicultural and multiethnic society in Japan, along with rights for the Ainu. Official promotion Japan The 2019 Ainu act simplified procedures for getting various permissions from authorities in regards to the traditional lifestyle of the Ainu and nurture the identity and cultures of the Ainu without defining the ethnic group by blood lineage. The National Ainu Museum was opened on 12 July 2020. The museum had been scheduled to open on 24 April 2020, prior to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games scheduled in the same year, in Shiraoi, Hokkaidō. The park