The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

Japan in the Heisei Era and Japanese South American Workers Who Have Established Their Lives

Alberto J. Matsumoto

In 2019, the era name "Heisei" ended in Japan and "Reiwa" began. The 31-year Heisei era almost overlaps with the history of Japanese workers from South America coming to Japan. During the bubble period in the late 1980s, in order to solve the serious labor shortage problem in the manufacturing …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

"GANNENMONO" and "Japanese Legacy" in Hawaii

Alberto J. Matsumoto

In June 2018, a major event in the history of Japanese overseas migration was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was the "Gannenmono" ceremony celebrating the 150th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, and was attended by Prince and Princess Akishino from Japan, and by the government, including former Self-Defense Forces …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

The Significance and Effects of the Japanese American Next Generation Leaders Forum

Alberto J. Matsumoto

For the past few years, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been inviting the next generation of Japanese leaders from Latin America. I have been involved in this project for the past six years at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Latin America and Caribbean Affairs Bureau. …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

The Man Who Entrusted His Dream of Emigrating Overseas to the Mexican Enomoto Colonization Corps - Part 2

Alberto J. Matsumoto

Read Part 1 >> Colonization to Chiapas, Mexico Even after leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Enomoto Takeaki continued to pursue his dream of overseas colonization. In 1893, he founded the Colonization Association and launched a project to send colonists overseas. They set their sights on Mexico, which had already …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

The Man Who Entrusted His Dream of Emigrating Overseas to the Mexican Enomoto Colonization Corps: Enomoto Takeaki - Part 1

Alberto J. Matsumoto

Japanese overseas immigration, which began with the Meiji Restoration, marked 150 years in 2018 since the first group arrived in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Many Japanese people subsequently emigrated to the mainland United States and Central and South America. The first immigrants to Mexico were the Enomoto Colonization Group, which …

Legal reforms lead to further increase in technical intern trainees from Asian countries: new challenges for Japanese workers

Alberto J. Matsumoto

A new immigration law will come into effect in April 2019. In addition to the existing "Technical Intern Training" residence status, a new "Specified Skilled Worker" visa will be introduced, and Japan is trying to accept 370,000 foreign workers over the next few years. Industries and departments with serious labor …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

Political Activism of Japanese Americans in Latin America - Part 2

Alberto J. Matsumoto

Read Part 1 >> At the Society for Latin American Studies held at Aichi Prefectural University in June this year1, Yukako Nagamura, a member of the Graduate School of Sophia University, gave an interesting presentation on "Positioning and career strategies of Japanese politicians under the Brazilian military regime" 2 . …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

Political Activism of Japanese Americans in Latin America - Part 1

Alberto J. Matsumoto

In Latin America, dictatorships were once the rule of many countries, but over the past 30 years, democratization has progressed despite political instability. However, even in "democratic governments" established through elections, there are many countries where the activities of opposition parties are restricted and politicians are imprisoned or jailed, and …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

Japanese "Food and Shops" in Roman alphabet

Alberto J. Matsumoto

Aside from "sushi," "tempura," "yakisoba," and "yakitori," which were already somewhat well known around the world before the Japanese food boom began, the words "onigiri" and "dorayaki" are now often seen written in the Roman alphabet. Not only are they used for Japanese food ingredients and menus, but recently they …

The Nikkei of Latin America and Latino Nikkei

The Japanese-Americans I met at university

Alberto J. Matsumoto

"Japanese-descendant dekasegi" workers from South America began coming to Japan in the late 1980s, and after the Immigration Control Act was revised in 1990, they began entering in large numbers. At first, many Japanese-descendants came alone, but gradually they began to consider staying in Japan longer, and began to bring …