Message from the Director of the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum, JICA Yokohama

Thank you for visiting the website of the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The JICA Japanese Overseas Migration Museum was established in 2002 with the opening of the JICA Yokohama International Center (as JICA Yokohama was known then) in connection to the fact that many Japanese people emigrated from the Port of Yokohama to other countries through the emigration agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was once located in the Negishi district of Yokohama. In preparation for the museum’s 20th anniversary in 2022, we have updated some parts of its permanent exhibition.

The number of visitors has increased along with the development of the Minato Mirai 21 district, and the museum now welcomes roughly 40,000 visitors annually—nearly 700,000 people since its opening.

JICA implements international cooperation in developing countries. Japanese emigrants and Nikkei people have overcome various difficulties in unfamiliar cultures and living environments with little infrastructure, and have contributed to the development of their countries while pursuing happiness for their families. The museum presents the 150-year history of Japanese migration to Hawai‘i and the Americas and introduces the societies and diversified communities of Nikkei people—estimated to number more than 3.8 million as of 2021—as well as their activities in those countries and their ties to Japan.