It is said that when people emigrate, they miss their home country, whatever the reason may be. Even if they are fleeing in the middle of the night, seeking asylum for political reasons, or if they are forced to go abroad to work because of economic or social circumstances, institutional distortions, or unbearable disparities that make it difficult to make ends meet, they will miss their hometown after six months or a year.

On application forms for identification cards and other documents, the word "hometown" is not written in the column for country of birth, but is written as "country of origin" or "address." On the other hand, on applications for Japanese residence status and alien registration forms filled out at city halls, you will see columns for "country of origin," "place of birth," "nationality," "date of entry," and "date of re-entry (year and month)." If you've lived in Japan for a long time, you'll have many opportunities to fill out such documents, and when I think about the number of times I've visited my hometown or renewed my visa, even I sometimes feel like going back to my "parents' home."

Even if Japan is relatively comfortable and has become a "second home," the feelings for the country where one was born and raised, do not easily disappear, and in some cases may even grow stronger.

Japanese immigrants to North and Central America 100, 70, or 50 years ago must have felt the same way. Many of them relied on their hometown connections, and their attachment to their hometown was reflected in their ^new colonies. Depending on how the leaders managed the colonies, they could recreate almost the same things they had in Japan. Dialects, local cuisine, festivals, cultural events, etc. were inherited in the new colonies as traditions and customs of their homelands, incorporating elements and ingredients of the new land (especially ingredients, which required considerable ingenuity). Japanese language schools were almost always established in these settlements, and the second generation of immigrants learned Japanese in these private schools as well as in regular local schools.

Japanese immigrants before and immediately after the war could not easily return to their hometowns like they can today, and even if their lives became a little more affluent, in many cases they had little time for improving their own lives, expanding their businesses (including business transformation), educating their children, and sending money back home to Japan. As a result, it can be assumed that they had strong feelings for their homeland and nostalgia for it. Therefore, during World War II, they must have had more expectations and contradictions than Japanese people in Japan, and while they loved and supported their homeland, they must have also had great anxieties.

Immediately after the end of the war in Brazil, the frustration of defeat led to conflict between the "winners ² " and the "losers ³ ," resulting in a dark incident that led to arrests and even deaths. The resentment remained, and strained relations between relatives and neighbors continued for more than 10 years. Some people see the "winners" as radical patriots, but their extreme feelings for their country escalated to the point of armed conflict with compatriots who did not share their views.

Meanwhile, in North America (except Hawaii), many Japanese immigrants and second-generation Japanese born in America, mainly living on the West Coast, were sent to internment camps when the war between Japan and the United States began. This measure was not taken against Italian or German immigrants, who were also enemies, but the united Japanese immigrants must have seemed a "fearsome enemy" to the authorities. From the immigrants' perspective, the fact that their "homeland" Japan had gone to war with the United States was unexpected, and they faced a great challenge. Also, from the perspective of "Japanese Americans" who were born and educated in the United States, their "homeland" was the United States, and Japan was their parents' "hometown." In other words, they were viewed as enemy aliens by their "homeland." Despite this, there were those who were drafted into the U.S. military as Americans, or those second-generation Japanese who swore loyalty to their homeland and volunteered to serve in intelligence activities on the European front or in Asia. Their achievements are symbolized by the 442nd Combat Team, which sacrificed many lives and was the most decorated unit in the U.S. Army. Here, the Nisei fought thoroughly for the "motherland, America," and their loyalty was unwavering. However, some of them began to no longer see Japan as a second home, a place where their parents had warmed them, and so they resolved to become thoroughly "American."

Latin American countries, such as Peru, took fairly strong measures, such as temporarily detaining or monitoring leaders and closing newspapers and schools, but in North America, Japanese people of Japanese descent were forced to live a completely different life from their South American ^{counterparts.4}

Today in Japan, there are many Japanese people from South America ^who are almost completely unaware of their past - I call them Latino Japanese people - who came to Japan as migrant workers about 20 years ago, and now they have settled down, with more and more of them obtaining permanent residency5 and Japanese citizenship. These are the "Japanese people" who are trying to live in Japan as immigrants.

Nikkeijin are the descendants of Japanese immigrants who were born and raised in colonias (settlements) or urban areas in Brazil, Peru, etc. In these settlements, they learned Japanese from the first generation of Japanese immigrants who loved Japan, but in Japan, it is often thought that Nikkeijin understand not only the Japanese language but also Japanese traditional events, festivals, customs, and habits quite well. However, although it depends on the country or region they migrated to, most South American countries have implemented a fairly thorough immigrant assimilation policy (compulsory education and military service system), so although they have a unique immigrant concept of Japan as a second home, their country of origin is naturally their motherland, hometown, and home.

Since the late 1980s, it has become economically feasible for almost anyone to travel to countries other than neighboring countries, and the combination of the economic crisis in South America and the labor shortage caused by Japan's bubble economy has led to many Japanese immigrants coming to Japan to work. The Japanese government has granted residence status and special visas to Japanese immigrants without Japanese nationality (some of whom have dual nationality) up to the third generation (children of Japanese people and their grandchildren) and to those with Japanese nationality (since the Immigration Control Act was revised in 1990). These visas can be renewed indefinitely, and permanent residency can be obtained later. Another benefit is that there are no restrictions on the type of ^occupation.6

However, many Japanese people in Japan do not understand Japanese very well, and do not know as much about Japanese values ​​and customs as Japanese people think (those living in cities with a large foreign population do not try to learn them because there is not much need for them). Even though they are called Japanese, there is a high rate of mixed race depending on the country of origin, so they may not be very noticeable from the outside. In addition, a significant proportion of their spouses are also non-Japanese. Naturally, they are respectable Brazilians, Peruvians, and Argentinians, and it would be better to call them Latinos not only in terms of legal status of nationality, but also in terms of culture. However, as long as they have Japanese blood, there are some who consider Japan their second homeland and who feel affection for Japan. Although it is not felt much in daily life, there is probably still some emotional connection with Japan.

Also, an increasing number of Peruvians are acquiring Japanese citizenship for convenience, becoming "Japanese." Their "homeland" where they were born and raised is Peru, but their current "nationality" is Japanese. They currently live in Kanagawa Prefecture, with their "family home" in the suburbs of Lima. From time to time, they "return to their home country of Peru," enjoying the flavors (cuisine) of their "hometown" and spending relaxing times with their remaining parents, siblings, etc. For those who are successful in business, even if their "country of residence" is Japan, their "country of activity" is Japan, other countries, and the world.

The meaning of "homeland" and "homecoming" is quite different from what it was 60 years ago. As travel has become more convenient, strong feelings towards one's country of origin have faded, and conversely, there are now many countries in which one lives and works. Even if one still has feelings for one's hometown, the feelings towards one's "homeland" may have changed considerably.

Note
1. Colony: A residential area where immigrants lived. Some were created with support from the Japanese government, but others were developed and developed by the immigrants themselves. In South America, it does not have much political connotation and is used as a synonym for "settlement area."

2. Japanese immigrants who believed Japan could win the war and refused to accept its surrender.

3. Emigrants who accepted Japan's surrender as a fact and decided to continue living strong lives in their new homes.

4. There are various documents and testimonies about this, and it was a great ordeal for some Japanese people. 112,000 people were detained in inland internment camps, losing all their jobs and property, and ultimately escalating into a lawsuit for state compensation after the war, resulting in a presidential apology and $20,000 in compensation. 1,771 people from Peru were deported to the United States and transferred to such camps.

5. Over 30% of Peruvians (22,000 people) and just under 22% of Brazilians (70,000 people) are granted permanent residency. This trend is growing, and in a few years it is expected that nearly half of all registered applicants will obtain permanent residency visas.

6. This kind of preferential treatment is also common in my home country of Argentina. It is common for the descendants of Spanish or Italians (up to their grandchildren) to acquire the nationality of their grandparents and go to Europe to work or study.

© 2008 Alberto J. Matsumoto