Most of the Japanese who immigrated to Argentina before the war were individuals, and even after the war, the majority of immigrants were based on government agreements, such as for trainees, and the number was quite limited. On the other hand, there were many immigrants from neighboring countries such as Bolivia and Paraguay, and I think that the current population, including fourth-generation Japanese, is around 50,000. Until a dozen years ago, the conventional wisdom was that there were around 30,000 people, but the Japanese government currently estimates there to be 65,000, although no census has been conducted. And while most of them undoubtedly live in Buenos Aires and its suburbs, in recent years it has been discovered that there are several Japanese families in regional cities that were not well known until now, and now exchanges are deepening with the use of social media.
Survey participants
In Argentina, 148 people of Japanese descent responded to this survey. Even before the survey was conducted, it was known that there were people of Japanese descent in regional cities such as Rosario, Cordoba, Santa Fe, Corrientes, and Mendoza, but in this survey, there were no responses from these regional cities. It is unfortunate that the survey was not balanced because the focus was on collecting data from the capital and its suburbs and there was no time to reach out to the regions.1
In addition, even though the survey stipulated that the target age group was 20 to 45 years old, the respondents included 50 second-generation Japanese (34%), who were not included in the survey, and were in their 40s or older. There were 86 third-generation Japanese (58%) and only 10 fourth-generation Japanese (7%). Since the survey aimed to understand the opinions of the next generation, I wish they had been more careful in selecting the survey participants. As this is my country of origin, I feel that the excellent opportunity to understand the actual situation of the community was not fully utilized.
In any case, there are many descendants of Okinawans in the capital and suburbs, and many of them answered that they know of relatives in Japan and have contact with them.2 In terms of educational background, 60% were university graduates, 14% were vocational school graduates, and 25% were junior high and high school graduates. In terms of their experience studying in Japan, 15 people (10%) had studied abroad on a prefectural budget, eight people (5%) had participated in JICA training, and one person was a recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Identity and belonging to Japanese organizations
80% of respondents said they have a Japanese identity. This was due to the fact that 90% of Japanese people answered that there is a Japanese organization in their area, and 66% answered that they belong to some kind of Japanese organization. Many of them said they have participated in various Japanese-related events and projects, and cited large bazaars, Japanese festivals, and Bon Odori festivals as the main events they have participated in. These events are often run not only by ordinary Japanese people, but also by Japanese business people in the food and beverage industry, but on the day of the event, most of the people who attend are non-Japanese. On the other hand, this also means that the Japanese community has strong public relations skills and is trusted in the local society.3
Career
In terms of work history, 20% are teaching positions, including at universities, but the rest have a fairly diverse range of jobs in both the public and private sectors, and many have side jobs. As is common in South America, people have several jobs, and depending on the economic situation, their side jobs can become their main job.
Fifteen percent (16 people) of the respondents said they had worked in Japan, of which 13 said they had worked in factories as migrant workers.4 Perhaps because Japan's labor market is quite harsh and many workplaces are male-dominated, many of these Nikkei responded that they do not have much intergenerational communication or Latin-style interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, perhaps because the survey was conducted in the second half of 2018, when the Argentine economy was beginning to deteriorate significantly, about half of the respondents expressed interest in working in Japan.5
Image of Japan
Regarding their image of Japan, 86% answered that their image was very high, with only three people answering that their image was very low. In response to the question about "what is unfavorable about Japan," responses included that the country is somewhat closed off, cold in human relationships, sometimes discriminatory toward foreigners, does not know much about Japanese people, does not express emotions (poor expression), etc. On the other hand, in response to the question about what they like about Japan, the top answers were Japanese food, cleanliness and order, organization and discipline, teamwork, punctuality, traditional culture, public order and safety, and public transportation.
When asked how they found out about Japan, 44% answered that it was through family, relatives or friends, 36% through the internet or SNS, and 30% through visiting Japan (for travel, studying abroad/training, work). Overall, 62% answered that they had been to Japan, with roughly half having been 1-2 times and 13% having been 3-5 times. The majority of people who stayed in Japan for non-work purposes were for 1-3 months.
Japanese Language Education
In areas where there are large concentrations of Japanese people, there have long been Japanese organizations as well as Japanese language schools, so it is believed that there are many Japanese people who can communicate in Japanese, even if they do not have a high level of Japanese proficiency.In fact, this survey found that 45 Japanese people (about 20%) had taken the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, of which 10 had N1, 8 had N2, and 12 had N3.
Exchange with Japan
Although there are nominally federated Japanese organizations in Argentina, they are not playing an important role. Here are some comments that reflect the demands made on Japanese organizations.
- I would like to hold more diverse events in local areas.
- We hope to plan events related to Japanese culture and Japanese identity, deepen exchanges, bridge the generation gap, and pass the on to the next generation.
- I would like to learn more about Japan from JICA volunteers (Japanese Community Cooperation Volunteers), carry out projects together, and share that knowledge with many Japanese people.
- I would like to see cooperation between organizations strengthened so that they do not become exclusive relationships.
- I would like them to do more effective PR activities and better organize and run their business.
The Japanese government strongly hopes to deepen exchanges between young people in Japan and Japanese descendants by increasing opportunities for young Japanese descendants to receive training in Japan (JICA, etc.) and study abroad. Similarly, young Argentinians are also looking for opportunities to interact with young people in Japan. Despite the abundance of information about Japan on the Internet and social media, very few Japanese university students are interested in studying abroad in Latin America, and Japanese descendants do not have many opportunities to interact with Japanese people of the same generation, but it is entirely possible to turn what was once a small possibility into a new one. There were also several comments pointing out the need to relax the requirements for acquiring Japanese citizenship and to remove the U.S. military bases from Okinawa, which is a political issue.
summary
An overview of the survey and collated data have been posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Latin America Bureau, with some questions translated into Spanish.6
Judging from these results, the Japanese communities in Mexico and Argentina, which we reported on last time , are planning and holding many more Japan-related events than ever before, and exchanges with Japan are increasing. However, knowledge of Japanese society and culture is still insufficient, and there are still few people with the skills to properly provide feedback to local communities from the information available online. Meanwhile, the Japanese community in Cuba, which we will introduce next time, has a completely different appearance due to its completely different political and economic systems.
In recent years, JICA has been providing training opportunities for Japanese descendants in Japanese culture and customs (Japanese cuisine, dancing, Japanese drums, Japanese dressmaking, Japanese 5S7 and entrepreneurship) for one to three months, which has contributed to improving the level of Japanese descendants. After returning home, the trainees who have participated in these training programs will be able to contribute to the development of the community by making use of their experience and knowledge in Japan and actively expressing their opinions to the Japanese organizations and groups they belong to in order to strengthen cooperation among Japanese descendants.
In order to strengthen ties and cooperation with Japan, it is necessary for as many Nikkei as possible to become knowledgeable about Japan, and for Japanese people to learn more about Nikkei in Latin America. Matching the curiosity and interests of both parties will surely open up many new possibilities.
Notes:
1. Of the 148 cases, 54 were from the capital, 39 from the cities of La Plata, Varela and Burzaco, 18 from the suburbs of Merlo and the western region (Moron), 5 from the northern city of Escobar, 20 from the neighboring province of Misiones, and 12 from the northern provinces of Chaco and Tucuman. None from other regional cities.
2. Except for Escobar in Buenos Aires and Misiones in the northeast, Okinawa is the most common prefecture where paternal or maternal great-grandparents came from in all cities, but other prefectures with high numbers are Hiroshima, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Hokkaido, Tohoku, etc. Prefectural associations exist, but not all of them seem to be active.
3. The Bon Odori festival in La Plata is held every January (midsummer in the local area) and can attract around 20,000 people. Other "Japanese festivals" are also attended by far more people than ever before and event planning has become quite professional, but in the future, these aspects need to be improved. Japanese businessmen in the food and beverage industry are also building a solid track record by setting up stalls not only at events held by Japanese organizations but also at other events held by the local community.
4. Of the 22 Japanese who answered that they had worked in Japan, 9 had worked for 1 to 3 years, 8 for 4 to 6 years, and 5 for 7 years or more, of which 13 worked in factories and the remaining 3 were in white-collar positions.
5. Several Japanese groups advertised job openings in Japan during 2019, but it is unclear how many people came to take up these jobs.
6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Latin America and the Caribbean Bureau website, " 2018 Survey on the Actual Conditions of Japanese Communities in Latin America (Report on Results) "
7. 5S is a business management system based on the four principles of organization, set in order, cleaning, standardization, and discipline.
© 2020 Alberto Matsumoto
