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Development of the Nikkei Community in Chile


Published: Sept. 11, 2009 Modified: April 11, 2025

The first Japanese arrived in Chile at the end of the 19th century, so the development of the Nikkei community has evolved since then for more than 100 years. For a better analysis we will divide this period into three parts: 1900-1950, 1951-2000 and 2001 onwards.

To better understand the multiracial and multiethnic influences that the Japanese and Nikkei faced in the early 1900s, we must consider that after the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the next major immigration to southern Chile was that of the Germans, around 1850.

There was also an influence from the English and French at that time, through the saltpeter exploitation companies in the north, intercontinental trade and the arts. The latter influence was given preference to urban areas.

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