Research Project (Ongoing)

A Transnational History of Japanese Emigration to South America: Migration Programs, Economic Development, and Cultural Activities

In recent years, issues related to foreign workers have become a subject of active discussion in Japan, often within the context of addressing social and economic challenges emerging from the ongoing demographic crisis and labor shortage. However, these debates rarely recall the history of migrants who departed from Japan since the mid- to late-nineteenth century. In modern Japan, migration was frequent: to colonies and territories within its imperial sphere of influence, other areas within the Asia-Pacific region, and the Americas. In particular, there were state-sponsored programs for emigration to Hawaii in the late 19th century, Brazil between the mid-1920s and the mid-1930s, and South America after World War II. Yet still, to what extent is the fact that Japan was once an emigrant-sending country for nearly a century recognized in Japan today? Taking into account this historical context and contemporary debates on foreign workers, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between transnational migrants, Japan as a nation-state and society in Japan.

This study examines state-sponsored programs and private initiatives that promoted migration from Japan to South America between the 1920s and the 1980s, as well as the activities of the emigrants themselves, known as the Nikkei (Japanese emigrants and their descendants). It especially focuses on their roles and significance in the formation of nation-states and their subsequent transformation in both the sending and host countries. By doing so, we aim to elucidate the overlaps and interrelations between nation-building processes in Japan and South America. Through this transnational approach, the study aims to reconstruct a modern and contemporary history centered around migrants as the agents of social, economic and cultural links between the two regions.