Editor's Note: The ethnic composition of modern Latin American residents not only retains the original Native American nation, but also incorporates a large number of immigrants, including China and Japanese. At present, Japanese immigrants living in Latin America have taken root. They not only integrate into the local society, but also affect the local development in turn. These Japanese and their descendants are mainly concentrated in Brazil. How did they take root in the local area? Our reporter conducted an interview on this issue. Maybe their success can inspire people.
The number of Japanese living in Brazil exceeds 1 10,000.
At the beginning of last century, Japan began to immigrate to Brazil in an organized way. 1908 June 18, 78 1 The Japanese crossed the ocean to the other side of the globe-the port of Santos in Brazil. From 19 10 to 19 14, the number of Japanese immigrants to Brazil is 14200. From 1925 to 1935, the peak period of Japanese emigration to Brazil was140,000 Japanese arrived in Brazil successively. Because of World War II, Japan did not immigrate to Brazil in the following year 10.
From 1959, Japan resumed immigration to Brazil, but the scale was much smaller than before. With the recovery of Japanese economy, Japan gradually turned to Brazil to export capital, mainly investing in mining. But at this time, Japan has already exported 260,000 people to Brazil. After five generations of reproduction, the number of Japanese in Brazil has reached more than 6.5438+0 million. 70% of Japanese live in Sao Paulo, 12% in Parana. The Japanese in Mato Grosso and Pará also account for 2.5% and 1.2% respectively.
Starting from farming, it has spread all over all walks of life.
Japanese immigration to Brazil is organized. According to the immigration contract signed between Royal Japanese Immigration Company and Brazil, Japanese immigrants who first arrived in Brazil mainly engaged in coffee cultivation in Sao Paulo mainland. After the expiration of the contract, Japanese immigrants began to spread to the seaside area of S? o Paulo.
Today, there are still 40% Japanese Brazilians who do not forget their ancestral businesses and engage in agricultural production. Most of them are engaged in service industries, such as hairdressing, opening restaurants and clinics. Others dabbled in finance and politics and made achievements. The current information minister of Lula's government is Japanese and the second Japanese minister. The first Japanese to work in the Brazilian government was the Minister of Energy and Mining and the President of Petrobras. Most Japanese Brazilians have served in the Brazilian army. During World War II, many Japanese Brazilians participated in Brazil's war against Italy. Some Japanese living in Brazil are even persecuted by Japanese militarism.
Collective immigrants are cohesive.
How did the Japanese in Brazil take root? With this question, the reporter interviewed the Japanese club in Brasilia. Fujita is over 70 years old now, but he always likes to come here. The old man said that when they first arrived in Brazil, life was very hard and they worked in the fields all day. But people don't feel lonely, because the early immigrants were organized by the Royal Japanese Immigration Company. The same job, but in a different place, immigrants don't leave the group and don't want to leave the group. However, it is this centralized settlement method that makes Japanese immigrants retain their own national characteristics.
The Japanese in Brazil are very United. Hundreds of overseas Chinese communities of Japanese descent in China provide all kinds of support for the Japanese. In June this year, five overseas Chinese communities in central and western Brazil merged to form the Japan-Pakistan Federation in the Federal District of Brasilia, and actively carried out activities to promote Japanese culture. They run sports clubs, hold lectures on acupuncture and agricultural technology, and publish magazines in Japanese and Portuguese.
The Japanese people are closely related to the Japanese government.
Japanese living in Brazil have always maintained close ties with the Japanese government. For a long time, Japan has repeatedly provided huge loans and grants to Brazil for agricultural development and scientific research projects. Many Japanese Brazilians have learned advanced agricultural techniques from Japan and used them in production. Brazil's vast land provides space for Japanese to display their talents, and gradually makes Brazil an important exporter of agricultural products in the world. Japanese immigrants brought all kinds of seeds from the mainland and successfully introduced them to Brazil, which showed the Japanese's ability to make a fortune. Today, many large farms in Brazil are run by Japanese.
Besides the United States, Japan is the second largest importer of Brazilian nationals. Due to cultural ties, Japanese nationals account for a large proportion of Brazilian expatriates in Japan. Where their ancestors lived, Brazilian Japanese in turn accumulated funds for Brazil's economic development. Since 1990, the money remitted to Brazil by Brazilian expatriates in Japan has played a positive role in balancing Brazil's external accounts. In 2002, Brazilian expatriates in Japan remitted US$ 2.6 billion to Brazil, exceeding the export income of Brazilian planes and cars. Moreover, remittances from Brazilian Japanese are increasing year by year. In addition to remittance, Japanese working in Japan also buy new houses or invest in Brazil. According to the cultural exchange plan between Japan and Brazil, the Japanese government also provides cultural exchange funds to the Brazilian government every year.
Japanese culture influences Brazil.
Today's Japanese descendants are engaged in a variety of occupations and have fully integrated into Brazilian society. Brazil is a country with a strong immigrant culture, which has brought immigrants from all over the world to Brazil. Japanese, like other immigrants, were born in Brazil, received Brazilian culture and education, grew up, got married and had children. They think they are more Brazilian. Marriage between Japanese and Brazilians is very common, and almost all Japanese families have foreign ancestry. Early Japanese didn't want their children to marry foreigners, but modern Japanese have completely lost these commandments. In addition, Brazilians generally have a good impression on the Japanese. They believe that the Japanese and their descendants are hardworking and have a strong sense of family responsibility, which is also an important reason for the Japanese to integrate into Brazilian society.
Japanese-Americans in Brazil, while maintaining Japanese culture, have also exerted great influence on local culture in Brazil. The most obvious performance is in the food culture. In a typical Brazilian barbecue restaurant, you can find Japanese sushi and sashimi. You can also find all kinds of seasonings with Japanese characteristics in supermarkets. In Sao Paulo Free Zone, where Japanese people are relatively concentrated, there are shops with distinctive Japanese cultural characteristics everywhere, ranging from kimonos to snacks. In the free zone, not only Japanese, but also residents of other nationalities in Brazil often patronize Japanese shops, restaurants, martial arts schools, hotels and judo halls.