Why Brazil is home to so many people from Japan
The South American country seems like an unlikely destination, but has a surprisingly large Japanese population
Like many populations around the world, with an increasingly globalized world and quicker and more efficient transportation options, people from Japan have spread far beyond their native home in Asia. Many U.S. and Canadian cities, for example, are home to “Little Tokyo” style neighborhoods that either continue to serve as a home for immigrants from Japan, or of Japanese ancestry, or at least has historically. But while countries having large exclaves of ethnic populations isn’t necessarily unique, some population migration patterns do stand out. In particular, the Japanese migration to the South American country of Brazil.
Beginning in the early 1900s, waves of Japanese migrants arrived on South American shores, creating a diaspora that is today the largest Japanese community outside Japan. And if you enjoy this article, be sure to check out our podcast on the geography of sushi, as well as a recent video I created on Japan’s interesting internal population distribution. Both are available right now!
Why Brazil?
As with many migration patterns around the world, the main driving force behind the migration of Japanese individuals to Brazil was economic opportunity. Japan, in the early 20th century, was facing the repercussions of rapid industrialization — overpopulation, lack of arable land, and economic instability. On the other hand, Brazil had just abolished slavery in 1888 and was in dire need of labor to work in its burgeoning coffee plantations.
Seeing the opportunity to help one another, Japan and Brazil forged diplomatic ties, culminating in the 1908 Japanese Immigration Agreement. The first ship, the Kasato Maru, arrived in Brazil with around 800 Japanese migrants, most of them contracted to work in coffee plantations. This first boat would begin a migration trend began that would see around 250,000 Japanese immigrants in Brazil by the end of World War II.
Today, Brazil is home to somewhere around 2 million people of Japanese descent. This would include not only recent Japanese immigrants, but also those who are the children of people from Japan, but are otherwise culturally more Brazilian. As of 2019, a little over 200,000 of those people are direct immigrants from Japan, making up a smaller, but still fairly sizeable portion of the overall Japanese population in the country. According to recent statistics, São Paulo is home to much of Brazil’s Japanese population.
But while Brazil is still home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, there’s been a recent exodus of ethnic Japanese moving back to Japan. In fact, as of 2020, there are now far more Japanese or people of Japanese ancestry moving back to Japan than there are those moving in.
Brazil didn’t really treat their Japanese immigrants well
While Brazil offered a solution to Japan's economic woes, the migrants faced a litany of challenges, including language barriers and cultural differences. Those who follow the stories of ethnic immigration around the world will probably see parallels in this story as well. Japanese immigrants would often get relegated to isolated communities where they could maintain their language and customs but faced social exclusion as a result.
And while some immigrants managed to prosper in agricultural enterprises, the majority remained at the bottom of the economic pyramid for quite a long time. These inequalities were aggravated during World War II when Brazil severed ties with Japan, leading to financial losses and social stigmatization for the Japanese community. A story that played out in similar fashion in the United States when most Japanese people were sent to internment camps, their businesses and land seized and often never returned.
Today, the divide between the older and younger generations of Japanese immigrants is a frequent issue in the community. While the older generation often longs for a connection to their Japanese roots, the younger generation is more Brazilian in their outlook, which sometimes leads to a generational gap in cultural understanding. Again, this is all pretty similar to any ethnic or national community that has a large immigration to a new country.
But it’s not all bad! The Japanese community has made a significant contribution to Brazilian culture—most notably in the realm of cuisine, where sushi and tempura are now staples. Japanese martial arts and festivals like 'Tanabata' have also become part of Brazil's multicultural identity.
And recently, both countries have taken steps to address the historical issues faced by the Japanese community in Brazil. Bilateral programs aim to facilitate cultural exchange and economic cooperation, healing old wounds and opening avenues for future collaboration.
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For those interested be sure to check out this week’s video on YouTube about Japan’s unique population distribution and our podcast episode on the geography of Sushi! If you couldn’t tell, this week’s theme was Japan. 🗾