Introduction
Over the past decade or so, the number of young Japanese people coming to Japan from South America for study or training has been increasing. Perhaps they could be called the millennial generation, they are curious, but as a result, while they are interested in a variety of things, they tend not to get too involved and instead prioritize "the fun of the moment" and "a sense of adventure." Even if they have goals, this generation is quite flexible in adapting to the situation at hand. Many Japanese people are interested in Japanese language and culture, and actively participate in events related to Japan. However, non-Japanese people are more serious about learning Japanese, and come to Japan at their own expense to study abroad or do homestays1 in order to deepen their knowledge of Japanese culture.
In order to ascertain the current state of Japanese communities, the Latin America and Caribbean Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted a Survey on the Actual Conditions of Japanese Communities in Mexico, Cuba, and Argentina in 2018, based on recommendations made by the "Expert Panel on Cooperation with Japanese Communities in Latin America2." Cooperation was requested from major Japanese organizations through the Japanese embassies in each country, and questionnaire surveys were conducted not only in the capitals and their suburbs, but also in Japanese communities in regional cities. At the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I created the questionnaire together with staff from the Latin America and Caribbean Affairs Bureau, and processed and analyzed the response data.
The survey was conducted from June to November 2018, targeting people aged 20 to 45, third generation or later. The survey included 44 questions, ranging from questions about the roots of Japanese descendants to educational background, work history, participation in Japanese descendants' organizations, history of visits to Japan (number of visits and purpose), interest in Japan, holding and participating in events related to Japanese culture, image of Japan, and requests and comments to the Japanese government. As a result, 170 Japanese descendants from Mexico, 148 from Argentina, and 114 from Cuba responded. The report was submitted in March 2019, and an official presentation was held at the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau on July 30 of the same year.3
Since not all members of the Japanese community in each country surveyed participated, the survey does not necessarily reflect the current state of the community, but since the data collected in Mexico and Cuba was balanced, it is believed to reflect the current state of the community. In this essay, which will be divided into three parts, I would like to introduce the data obtained from this survey for each country and offer my own views.
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Mexico: 170 people of Japanese descent surveyed
Currently, there are an estimated 20,000 Japanese people in Mexico, whose history can be traced back to the Enomoto Colonization Group4 , which settled in Chiapas in 1897. The forced relocation to Mexico City and Guadalajara during World War II had a major impact on the current state of Japanese communities. This survey received responses from a total of 170 Japanese people in 10 states, as well as the capital5, and produced some very interesting findings .
Survey participants
Looking at the Nikkei participants by region, the majority were third-generation Japanese from the capital, Mexico City, while the majority were fourth-generation Japanese from the regions. Overall data showed that 41% were third-generation Japanese and 53% were fourth-generation Japanese, with 35% in their 20s, 33% in their 30s, and 31% in their 40s. It is also worth noting that 67% of respondents said that their spouse or partner was non-Nikkei.
Events by Japanese organizations
Regarding events promoted by embassies and other organizations (such as Japanese culture and study abroad information), 74% of respondents said they were not aware of them, but 56% of Nikkei people in capitals and cities said they had participated in events held by Nikkei organizations6 . On the other hand, in rural areas, perhaps because there are no Nikkei organizations in some areas, the percentage of people who have participated in events run by organizations was not that high. Reasons for the low participation rate included comments such as a lack of accountability for expenses and profits, and distrust of opaque management. In addition, even if people wanted to participate, many of them were volunteers doing menial work, and it seemed that they were dissatisfied with the fact that they could not get involved in planning.
In recent years, there has been a trend for local non-Japanese people to actively participate in various Japanese cultural events and courses organized by Japanese organizations. Many Japanese people recognize that this has improved the financial base of the Japanese organizations, and they welcome the participation of non-Japanese people. Because Japanese people are also part of society, it will be necessary to place more importance on cooperation with non-Japanese people in the future so that we can discover more about Japan together. In some cases, it may be a good idea to share more training opportunities in Japan with non-Japanese people7 .
Educational background and occupation
The average level of education among Japanese people in Mexico is high, with 90% of them having a university degree and 26% having completed graduate school. In addition, 22% have studied abroad, and 10 % have come to Japan on a prefectural scholarship.8 Some people also said they had obtained a degree or undertaken specialized training in the United States, Europe, Brazil, or Argentina.
With regard to occupation, some had experience working overseas, but only five people answered that they had gone to Japan as a migrant worker. Although many Japanese companies (mainly automobile-related) have established operations not only in the capital but also in the Chubu region9 , relatively few people answered that they have any connection with Japanese companies. In the regional areas, many were involved in Japanese food-related or food and beverage businesses. However, looking at their work histories, many had changed jobs, and there were also cases of them changing industries. Considering this situation and Mexico's educational challenges and social structure, it is easy to surmise that not all Japanese people have a high level of education.
Japanese ties and identity
Mexicans of Japanese descent seem to have relatively strong ties with Japan. In recent years, travel to Japan has become easier, thanks to rising standards of living and the availability of daily direct flights from Mexico to Japan. Given this background, 60% of respondents said they have never been to Japan, but 78% said they know or are aware of relatives in Japan. Of the 40% who have traveled to Japan, more than half said they did so for the purpose of tourism or visiting relatives, and even more often they stayed for less than a month.
Additionally, 41% of respondents said they had a strong sense of identity as Japanese, and when combined with those who answered "quite a bit" or "somewhat," the figure rose to 92%. This seems to confirm the strength of their ties to Japan.
Integration into the local community
As each generation advances, they become more integrated into their local communities, advance in society, and have more opportunities to access new possibilities. However, membership in professional associations, chambers of commerce, etc. is very low at only 19% of the total. While the percentage of doctors, business owners, and labor union members is fairly high, others are not very active, and only 30% of the total participate in volunteer activities such as free medical treatment by doctors, vaccination campaigns, support for the poor, blood donations, cleaning activities, and visits to nursing homes.
Japanese ability
Regarding Japanese language ability, participants were asked to self-assess their conversational, reading and writing skills using the standards of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Most of those who answered that they had attained the N1 or N2 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test were Japanese descendants in Mexico City. It is interesting that 80% answered that they had a high level of English comprehension, perhaps because of their strong business ties with the United States. However, it is thought that only about half of them actually had a high level of English proficiency. Reasons for not studying Japanese included the absence of Japanese language schools or Japanese descendant organizations, the absence of anyone to talk to at home or school, lack of interest, and the lack of any perceived benefits of learning Japanese as a language.
Image of Japan
A fairly high 97% of people said they had a positive image of Japan, and they gave high marks to Japanese cuisine, cleanliness and order, organization and discipline, public safety and good manners, and punctuality. It seems that people have a strong admiration for Japan. In addition, the most common answer was that they gained knowledge about Japan from manga, anime, the internet, and movies, followed by their parents, relatives, and traveling to Japan.
In recent years, the approach of the embassy and JICA towards the Japanese community has become much friendlier than before, and Japanese people have come to feel closer to Japan. In particular, the alumni association of JICA Japanese trainees10 holds regular information sessions on training programs and pre-dispatch orientations, and actively promotes the program through social media such as Facebook. Perhaps as a result, even Japanese people who previously had no contact with the Japanese community seem to be improving their opinion of Japan. Following up on this network, regularly sending out information emails and updating social media requires a lot of work, but it is important to continue this kind of steady work.
Notes:
1. A large number of young people from countries with working holiday agreements come to Japan through this system. In South America, as of March 2020, Chile and Argentina have signed working holiday agreements with Japan, with a quota of 200 people.
Working Holiday Program (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
2. In May 2017, a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding cooperation with Japanese communities in Latin America. This website contains the three meetings and report sessions that were held.
3. The website contains the survey summary and report contents for all three countries. The report meeting on July 30, 2019 was attended by Director Yoshida, Ambassador Sato, Director Kondo of the South America Division, Regional Coordinator Takagi, Division Staff Member Konagaya, Emeritus Professor Horisaka (Sophia University), Emeritus Professor Yanagida (Keio University), Associate Professor Asaka (Nanzan University), Associate Professor Urano Edison (University of Tsukuba), Chairman Tanaka of the Japan Association of Japanese Overseas, and Director Suzuki Noriko of JICA.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website also provides a summary of the report, as well as a summary in Spanish.
4. Alberto Matsumoto, " The Man Who Entrusted His Dream of Overseas Emigration to the Mexican Enomoto Colonization Corps: Part 1 " (March 13, 2019)
5. The total number of people surveyed was 170: 32 in the city, 21 in three cities in Chiapas, 12 in two cities in Nuevo Leon, 28 in three cities in Coahuila, six in Guanajuato, 10 in San Luis de Potosí, 10 in Jalisco, six in two cities in Veracruz, 23 in four cities in Sinaloa, 23 in three cities in Sonora, and three in Puebla.
6. Even though they were aware of the existence of Japanese organizations, only 33 out of 170 people were actively involved in executive positions. In the city, the role of the Japan-Mexico Association Hall and prefectural associations is large, but there are some rural areas where there are no Japanese organizations.
7. In fact, for the first time, non-Japanese trainees from Brazil came to Japan for JICA's Nikkei Trainee Program in 2018, and in 2019 several non-Japanese trainees from other countries are receiving training together with Japanese trainees.
8. In this survey, the prefectures where paternal great-grandparents were most likely to be from were Fukuoka, Nagano, Hiroshima, Shiga, and Kumamoto, while the prefectures where maternal great-grandparents were most likely to be from were Nagano, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, and Wakayama.
9. According to JETRO , there are more than 1,100 companies operating in the country and more than 10,000 Japanese people residing there.
10. In Mexico, there is an organization called Asociación de Exbecarios Nikkei de México (ASENIM) , where former JICA trainees disseminate information and deepen friendships.
© 2020 Alberto Matsumoto
