Carlos Uscanga
Carlos Uscanga is a Full Professor at the Center for International Relations of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He completed his Master's degree in International Political Science at Ehime University, and obtained his PhD in International Cooperation from Nagoya University.
Last updated August 2017
Stories from This Author
100 minutes after the Great Kanto Earthquake: An example of the solidarity of Mexico and Latin America
Oct. 2, 2023 • Carlos Uscanga
On March 11, 2011, we all witnessed the triple disaster: human, material and nuclear that resulted from the Pacific region earthquake in the Tōhoku part of Japan with a magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter scale. Many of us witnessed, in real time, the devastation of the earthquake and tsunamis. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was one of the most documented disasters due to the extensive digital telecommunications network that, despite its temporary collapse, allowed …
The day the “Japanese” park was inaugurated in Mexico City without Japanese
Nov. 18, 2022 • Carlos Uscanga
The minister responsible for the Japanese Legation in Mexico, Miura Yoshiaki, surely read in the newspapers about the upcoming inauguration of the Japanese park in the “aristocratic” and new area of the Churubusco Country Club, while he was confined to his residence. The Japanese diplomat was awaiting, along with his collaborators, his transfer to the United States as part of the exchange program for prisoners of war and officials between the Allied and Axis powers. The suspension of diplomatic relations …
Tsunezō Wachi: from spy to Buddhist monk
April 30, 2021 • Carlos Uscanga
Tsunezō Wachi 1 (和智恒蔵) was born on July 24, 1900 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1922, simultaneously studying Spanish at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies where he also learned English. He was assigned to the Army Cavalry Regiment and in 1932 he entered the Imperial Navy Communications School in Yokosuka, where he specialized in the area of radio transmissions and cryptography. Upon completing his academic training, Wachi was assigned to the communications area of the ship Naka …
The Japanese community in Mexico during World War II: Those of Perote
July 8, 2020 • Carlos Uscanga
The idea of a war confrontation between the United States and Japan during the interwar period was a constant theme in the written press, in diplomatic circles and in public opinion in general. However, despite the increase in deepened tensions between those two countries in the early 1940s, the outbreak of the Pacific War—with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941—came as a surprise to a vast majority of the planet's inhabitants. In Mexico, he hastened to break …
Part 4: Shinichi Morishita and the Fire of the Japanese Association
May 20, 2019 • Carlos Uscanga , Rogelio Vargas
Shinichi Morishita was arrested in December 1926 for the murder of Saburo Mashiko, the then secretary of the Japanese Association based in Mexicali, Baja California. The popular jury that would judge Morishita would be formed almost two years later. The resolution of this body would acquit him, unanimously, of the crime on February 2, 1928; without mentioning in the file the reasons for that decision. However, the acquittal sentence would be annulled by the criminal judge of the Northern District …
Part 3: Francisco Nishikawa Nakamura - In Self Defense
May 13, 2019 • Carlos Uscanga , Rogelio Vargas
Francisco Nishikawa Nakamura, a Japanese migrant residing in the Santa María de la Ribera neighborhood of the Federal District, killed his compatriot Francisco Ozaki in self-defense in Manuel Matsumoto's carpentry workshop, the latter being a witness to the events. For that act, Nishikawa was, in the first instance, acquitted by the courts of the first criminal court. Said resolution would be annulled by the public ministry for not being convincing in the light of the facts, which is why it …
Part 2: Isaac Nagaya Tanaka and the Risks of the Apothecary
May 6, 2019 • Carlos Uscanga , Rogelio Vargas
Isaac Nagaya Tanaka (Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1890) was a naturalized Mexican apothecary and merchant of Japanese origin who lived in the town of Huixtla, Chiapas, being the owner of the “San Francisco” pharmacy located on the central-north avenue of that municipality. On March 6, 1950, the mixed court of first instance of that town issued an order of formal imprisonment to the complainant for the manslaughter of Pedro García de Labra for a vaccine that the Japanese had given him …
Part 1: Francisco Ishino Kawanishi and the Smuggling Accusation
April 29, 2019 • Carlos Uscanga , Rogelio Vargas
Presentation In Latin America, it is a field of study that has been little analyzed as to how Asian migrants, particularly Japanese, faced - at different times - various vicissitudes before criminal justice. Existing studies have given priority to the analysis of the adaptation of new migrants to the rules of society and their ability to improve through hard work, honesty and a great sense of honor. However, the above loses sight of the fact that during their residence and …
Paul and the Dictator
Aug. 21, 2017 • Carlos Uscanga
Pablo Imai did not move a muscle during his trial, in the jury room of the Belén Courthouse, for charges of homicide with the aggravating circumstances of treachery, premeditation and advantage. Upon hearing his death sentence, he turned to the courtroom secretary, Manuel Lozano y Castro—who had read the jury's resolution—and with a slow movement he bowed his head toward him, showing his acceptance. The murmurs of the audience coincided with the apparent attitude of calm and serenity of the …
