A sensational article ran on BBC Brazil. The article is in Portuguese and is titled " The History of Japanese Slaves Sold Around the World by the Portuguese 400 Years Ago " (September 12th, by Ana Paula Ramos). It was based on an interview with Associate Professor Lucio de Souza …
Read Part 1 >> Can someone be trusted as a Japanese person just because they have Japanese citizenship? As I was reading the comments section of the journalist's column "Brazilians in Japan should also be given 100,000 yen, " I noticed that many people were lumping together permanent residents and …
The feeling of relief when I see the "Welcome Home" sign at Narita International Airport For Japanese people living abroad, or immigrants, everyday life is like a long, never-ending journey. For most people, the journey ends when they return to their hometown, somewhere in their home country. It's been more …
Read Part 5 >> To celebrate Okamoto's great achievement, a victory celebration called the "Kappa Festival" was held in his hometown of Marilia on September 28, 1952. Three cows were roasted and a grand churrasco party was held, inviting 1,000 people. According to a report on the event in the …
Read Part 4 >> In the documentary film "O nadador – A história de Tetsuo Okamoto" (hereafter abbreviated as "Swimming Athlete", 2014, 26 minutes, Portuguese, directed by Rodrigo Gullotta), which summarizes Okamoto's achievements and personality, his sister Suzue says that her brother's personality was "very modest and not very sociable. …
Read Part 3 >> A surprising connection from before the war Research revealed that Padilha had indeed been working at the Sports Bureau since before the war. He was highly trusted by Adhemar Barros, who was appointed Consul General of São Paulo State (1938-41) by the Vargas dictatorship, and he …
Read Part 2 >> The Director of the São Paulo State Sports Bureau who gave permission to fly the Japanese flag at the Pacaembu swimming pool was Mr. Padilha, the same man who had given special permission for the Japanese to use the pool during the war. The March 28, …
Read Part 1 >> At the US-led Pan-American Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Rio in January 1942, ten South American countries, excluding Argentina, resolved to sever economic relations with the Axis powers, and on the 29th of the same month, the Brazilian government also declared the severance of diplomatic …
Nisei swimmer Tetsuo Okamoto (born 1932 - died 2007) brought the first Olympic medal to both Brazilian swimming and the Japanese community. He reached third place on the podium on August 3, 1952, in the 1500m freestyle at the Helsinki Olympics (Finland). What's more, three swimmers of Japanese descent made …
Read Part 1 >> After serving as a volunteer in the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, he traveled around Central and South America and ended up in Brazil Nakatani was born on May 23, 1943 in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, as the fourth of five boys. He graduated from the Kyoto …
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