On becoming a Japanese national (Japanese)

Moved to Japan as my dekasegi father called on me (Japanese) Facing hardships in Japan (Japanese) The difference between Nikkei community in Oizumi and Brazil (Japanese) Change in community after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese) Accepted by Japanese society as I learned more Japanese (Japanese) From being a dekasegi to a long-term resident (Japanese) Challenges of Brazilian community in Japan (Japanese) Change of identity (Japanese) The term Nikkei (Japanese) My daughter’s identity (Japanese) Starting my own business as a graphic designer after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (Japanese) On becoming a Japanese national (Japanese) Letting people know I am from Brazil (Japanese) Oizumi-machi is my hometown (Japanese)

Transcripts available in the following languages:

(Japanese) Actually, I feel like I should and can become a Japanese national any time. It’s just that I need to get all materials, and this might sound a bit rude, but in my current job, I don’t have any problems being Brazilian - I’ve never had such problems - so I’ve remained Brazilian to this day.

So, since I know that I’m not going back to Brazil, with my home here, since I’m going to live my life in Japan with everyone here, maybe I should become a national as soon as possible. But I think I’ll do that when I need to, at the right time.

And I believe that nothing about me will change even if I become a national. I mean, I am still from Brazil and I’ll probably want to stick to my name Paulo.

Date: October 18, 2016
Location: Gunma, Japan
Interviewer: Shigeru Kojima
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Brazilians citizenship Identity Japanese Nikkei in Japan